From Barack Obama’s ‘It’s Over’ ad:
John McCain’s chief advisor lobbies for oil companies, even from Russia and China.
John McCain’s chief advisor, Charlie Black was reported as ending his lobbying roles in March. According to the New York Times:
He said he was now in retirement, after stepping down as chairman of his lobbying firm, BKSH & Associates Worldwide, in March, although he had been advising Mr. McCain for months prior to leaving the firm.
No one is disputing that Black was a lobbyist, but it’s a straightforward lie from barackobama.com to say he’s lobbying for anyone now.
Tags: barackobama.com
September 16th, 2008 at 4:59 am
this one really gets me because Obama slams McCain for hiring lobbyists when he hired a federal lobbyist to be a co-chair of his campaign.
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From NBC/NJ’s Aswini Anburajan and NBC’s Mark Hudspeth
Obama’s campaign proudly announced today the endorsement of former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges who will join his campaign as a national co-chair.
But the endorsement of Hodges may raise eyebrows among those who support Obama because he strongly decries lobbyists on the stump, frequently saying that he will not let them work in his White House or set the agenda in Washington.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/02/544600.aspx
where it shows his national co-chair is not only a state lobbyist as obama admits but a federal lobbyist.
*** UPDATE *** NBC’s Domenico Montanaro adds that Hodges is, in fact, a registered federal lobbyist, a search of the Senate Office of Public Records Lobbying Disclosure Act Database shows. He registered as such on June 1, 2007.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
The lobbyist is a double standard position I do not like about my candidate, Obama,,, but half the point is who Charlie Black is (err was) lobbying for. Big Oil…
Also I think this is a stretch for a lie. He was lobbying for oil companies this year. He quits every election cycle and then gets back on board as soon as the elections are over. Charlie Black is scum.
“Charles R. Black, Jr., in his position as a top adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, commented in a June 2008 interview with Fortune magazine that another terrorist attack inside the U.S. would “be a big advantage” to McCain in the November presidential election.”
September 16th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
The ‘B’ in BKSH & Associates Worldwide stands for Black. He’s been involved in every election since he founded his lobbying company. To try to paint him as an ‘ex-lobbyist’ is ludicrous, and to label this as a lie is picking nits.
I agree that Obama hiring lobbyists is hypocritical and frustrating, primarily because he’s made such a point to demonize them. The lobbying system has been abused wildly in the past, but lobbyists are not the inherent problem. They just makes an easy target for Obama to rail against, just like John McCain and his “earmark spending” witchhunt. These things are symptoms of a problem, not the problem itself.
There’s nothing wrong with representatives from various groups presenting their cases to house and senate members, but there is something wrong with senators and congressmen who are being bought with “gift” bribes, and there is definitely something wrong with legislators submitting bills handed to them by lobbyists without even glancing past the cover page.
September 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I am lobbying to get this lie reversed and I am not a lobbyist.
September 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Black is a cool guy if you get to know him. It’s sad that you’ve judged him without ever meeting him. Does he have a connection to lobbying? Yes. But can we make a statement that across the board all lobbyists are terrible people? No.
Plus Black makes a mean submarine sandwich.
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I am a fisherman.
I am not fishing right now, but I’m still a fisherman.
I might retire, but I’ll still fish.
The dispute is the tense Obama used?
The fish I shoot in a barrel from an airplane full of wolves would know you are stretching to find Obama camp lies.