Obama does accept lobbyists' funds

Everyone "knows" that Barack Obama does not accept lobbyist money. Well, there are a few issues that need to be addressed.

The Federal Election Committee is what determines what a "lobbyist" is. They define it thus: the term lobbyist includes people who work for lobbying firms at the local, state, and federal level and their relatives who are not otherwise employed, as well as those who are officially registered as Washington lobbyists.

While it is true that Obama only accepted $86,000 from them in '07, McCain accepted $400,000 and Clinton accepted $800,000.

However, "It's a politically smart position for him to take. It sounds profound," says Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics. "But in fact neither PACs nor lobbyists give a lot to presidential campaigns. He's not leaving a whole lot of money on the table by eschewing PACs and lobbyists." PAC money represents only about one percent of all the money in a presidential race because, Ritsch says, so many people donate that their contributions dwarf PAC money.


It should be noted that the category does not include in-house lobbyists who work solely for one company, union, trade association, or other group. So, from different industries, the following donations were given to candidates in '07.

Lawyers and Law Firms:
Clinton- $11.8 million
Obama- $9.5 million

McCain and Huckabee received far less.

Pharmaceuticals:
Clinton- $349,000
Obama- $338,000
McCain- $98,000

Health Professionals:
Clinton- $2.3 mil
Obama $1.7 mil


Oh, Obama also accepted lobbyists' funds while campaigning for Senate. So, there you have it, he in fact has incentive to cater to special interest groups that have used money as a means to influence him.

Here for an extended article.

Or here for detailed information on all the presidential candidates campaign finances.