The money tree

Senator Obama attended two fundraisers in Northern New Jersey in the last twenty four hours. Admission at each was over $30,000 per person. It is amazing to me how fast Senator Obama has changed from a post partisan new style politician who was going to do away with all of the old ills of our system into the standard style pol who came of age in a machine controlled area. A year ago, Obama was pledging his loyalty to the public financing system which was intended to take some of the influence of money out of our politics. Here was a new kind of candidate, one who would rise above partisanship and the favoring of big contributors. Now, he broke his promise to take public financing and is raking in the money in $30,000 units. Indeed, many at these functions gave $60,000 or more with each spouse contributing.

Maybe I am just cynical, but I find it hard to imagine that those who gave in such large amounts will not get special treatment by an Obama Administration. The millions who gave to Obama's campaign in amounts of $25 or $50 in the expectation that they were funding someone who would do away with the old special interest money oriented politics as usual should be sorely disappointed.

My take here is that Obama was never a post partisan politician or even one who wanted to take the money out of the system. Like in many other areas, Senator Obama just said what he thought would get him elected. There is a reason the slogan is "Change you can believe in". One has to "believe" rather than rely on the fact that Obama means change. Bill Clinton was right -- the Obama position was just another fairy tale.

Obama needs to remember, however, that most people know the fairy tale of the Emperor's New Clothes. Obama cannot long continue saying one thing and doing another without the America people turning strongly away from him.