Obama's K Street connections

K Street.
Yeah, so what about it? you might ask.
Geographically; K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C.. Universally; K Street known as a center for numerous think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups.

K Street lobbyists and advocacy groups.
Hmmm ... hasn't Pres. Obama said they were nasty people?
Why yes, he did. A number of times. One time was January 2006, at the Lobbying Reform Summit where he was making it a point to name Republicans for having dealings with lobbyists and special interest groups..

In his speech, Obama was extolling the virtues of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt as he "put party and politics aside in order to battle corruption and give people an open, honest government that would fight for their interests and uphold their values."

Obama continued with, "The American people are tired of a Washington that's only open to those with the most cash and the right connections. They're tired of a political process where the vote you cast isn't as important as the favors you can do. And they're tired of trusting us with their tax dollars when they see them spent on frivolous pet projects and corporate giveaways.
It's not that the games that are played in this town are new or surprising to the public. People are not naive to the existence of corruption and they know it has worn the face of both Republicans and Democrats over the years."

Later in the speech, he says, "The well-connected CEOs and hired guns on K Street who've helped write our laws have gotten what they paid for. They got all the tax breaks and loopholes and access they could ever want. But outside this city, the people who can't afford the high-priced lobbyists and don't want to break the law are wondering, "When is it our turn? When will someone in Washington stand up for me?"
http://obamaspeeches.com/047-Lobbying-Reform-Summit-National-Press-Club-Obama-Speech.htm

After he was elected, it seemed as if Obama was going to really walk the talk. But a reporter in 2009 noticing White House senior adviser David Axelrod meeting with Fox News chairman and chief executive officer Roger Ailes privately in Manhattan for 'a cup of coffee', started some to take notice of what was going on. This was about the time that the White House was beginning the rhetoric on how Fox News wasn't playing nice in the Obama sand box.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/27982.html

Reports of certain visitors using side door entrances to the White House began to surface. The presence of a military guard who would then take post at that door, told the reporters that the President was nearby or in the room. In 2009, Judicial Watch, under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, filed for access to Obama White House visitor logs from January 20, 2009 forward. The Secret Service claimed that the records belong to the Obama White House and denied Judicial Watch access to them. A federal district court has ruled twice that all visitor records belong to the Secret Service and therefore should be available under the Freedom of Information Act.
An October 8 letter from the Department of Homeland Security related to Judicial Watch's request: "It is the government's position that the categories of records that you requested are not agency records subject to the FOIA. Rather, these records are governed by the Presidential Records Act…". Funny, Obama's first Executive Order was was to squelch what would be released and defined as Presidential papers.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2009/oct/obama-administration-denies-judicial-watch-foia-request-white-house-visitor-logs

Remember , "When will someone in Washington stand up for me?" Well, don't hold your breath waiting for it and don't be naive enough to think that Obama is all that invested in 'truth, openess and transparency'.

In his report, New York Times’s Eric Lichtblau blows the lid off the whole pot of coffee being shared by the White House and lobbyists. Geographically, White House administration, with Secret service agents in tow, are not meeting with lobbyists in the White House. Technically, they don't have to be listed in White House visitors’ logs and lobbying registration records.

Lichtblau report covers a lot of area as to how and where the White House administration and lobbyists are meeting. Do I hear 'plausible deniability' floating around in Obama's lawyer mind? Or maybe as a senior White House official said, “We don’t believe there’s anything untoward about these meetings, and we don’t think that represents any special access for lobbyists.” Adding that “folks are allowed to get a cup of coffee, and we’re not going to bar patronage at any of the area’s fine coffeehouses.”

I'm waiting to find out who is Obama's Abramoff.

Read Lichtblau report
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/us/politics/25caribou.html?sq=caribou coffee&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print