Baracking for Reform
John McCain is the wrong guy to look up to when it comes to lobbying reform, mostly because it involves money, something he’s got trouble turning down, but you’ve got to love Barack Obama’s zeal and the Democratic Party’s proposal for an independent commission, perhaps especially since it gets up McCain’s nose. It is, however, rarely a good idea to rush through legislation, even when the need, as in this case was revealed with the Abramoff crash-and-burn, is so patently obvious. Total travel ban or partial? 60-vote requirement on “earmarks” or no vote? Whatever else happens, one thing is clear: the now-public spat between Senators McCain and Obama is just the Arizonan’s ego getting in the way of substantial work. Ever since the S&L crisis, McCain’s been trying to paint a fiduciary picture of himself, coming off more whited sepulchre than White House material most of the time.