Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are in something of a pitched battle to demonstrate how little lobbyists influence their campaigns.  While McCain struggles with the high number of lobbyists working on behalf of his campaign, and a new conflict of interest policy that has led to a handful of firings, Obama is addressing the money side of the equation by telling the DNC to refuse contributions from federal lobbyists and PACs, as his campaign has done.

Peter Overby of NPR reports [1] on this new development which continues Obama's theme of railing against the role that campaign contributions from lobbyists play in shaping priorities in Washington, DC.  

 

Lobbyists have been fundamental to most modern presidential campaigns — and controversial, too. But never before have they been treated this harshly, as pariahs, as Obama and Republican John McCain joust to be the reformer of Washington's sinful ways.


[. . .]


Of course, neither candidate is totally pure. Obama rejects money from lobbyists, but he takes campaign advice from some of them. McCain is happy to take their cash, but last month he purged his staff: Lobbyists had to choose between their campaign positions and their lobbying gigs.


Obama is also out front on the issue of fundraising transparency. He said this week that from now on, reporters can come in and cover his money events. McCain, despite his reputation as the primary author of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law and other reforms, holds his fundraising events behind closed doors. When asked why, he replied, "It's because the people who are raising the money request that."

Well, it's good to see a couple of guys who are campaigning on their "Washington outsider" credentials actually take a few steps to back up that assertion.  However, this fight can't end with just vilifying lobbyists on the campaign trail, and going right back to business as usual next year.  Whoever is victorious come November, our next President must pursue full public financing of federal elections as the antidote to the influence of lobbyist and other special interest money on elections.