Open government, the Internet way

Much of what Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) proposed in his speech on ethics reform late last month marched across familiar terrain: a ban on gifts to federal employees; a requirement that appointees cannot rule on issues that affect their former employers; a prohibition on aides who leave government returning to lobby the administration they served. None of those ideas from the 2008 Democratic presidential contender are objectionable. But they are no more likely to eliminate special interest influence from the capital than the similar promises from the generations of presidential candidates before him. As long as there are contending interests in American society, those interests will make themselves heard in Washington. Dam the flow of contributions and pressure at one point and it will flow somewhere else. Money and power can no more be separated than vodka and regret.

Ronald Brownstein

July 6, 2007