Posted by
Andrews on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 3:03:55 PM
Obama made two gestures today which I am sure were intended to prove he is "different" and wants to concentrate on government rather than personal advancement, but, to be honest, they are such obviously meaningless gestures one has to ask whether anyone (excepting his lapdog media) fails to see through them.
First, the pay freeze. As it is their first day on the job, I don't think this is having any immediate effect on his staff. Did they expect a raise today? Of course not. And should they demand a raise in a year or two, Obama can very quietly rescind his executive order and give them one, without anyone ever noticing. Or, if the opposition makes an issue of it, he can call a press conference, declare the crisis over, and do the same thing.
Even if ti were meaningful, some sort of ironclad guarantee against any pay increases in the next four years, so what? People do not go into government for the salary. Not at the level of White House staff. People who accept positions on presidential staffs do so for three reasons. First, to exercise power, either from the sheer love of power or to enact some agenda. Second, to set themselves up in a position to be elected or appointed to a better office. Third, because they expect to parlay government experience into a lucrative private job after they leave government service. As I wrote before, congressmen spend millions to earn a few hundred thousand a year. Does that sound like they are doing it for the money? Of course not. And the same for high level staffers, the pay is not there. Even the most greedy are not expecting wealth from their job, but instead from private sector jobs in the future.
Which brings me to the second Obama order, his prohibition on lobbying.
This is a nice show piece. By prohibiting anyone in his administration from taking lobbying posts while he is in office, I am sure some think he has struck a great blow against lobbyists, but the truth is quite different.
Think about it for a moment. Most people in his administration will hold those posts for the duration of his presidency. Any lobbying posts will be taken after he leaves office, which makes this prohibition largely ineffective against 95% of those who would go into lobbying. And for the other 5%? Well, let us say I leave Obama's service and want to cash in on my connections. How do I do it? Well, I set up a PR firm, or a consulting firm, or anything I call something other than lobbying. By not taking money directly form those seeking to lobby, but acting as a consultant to lobbying firms likely I can continue to do just what I would ahve done before this order without violating it.
Then again, I suppose this should come as a surprise to no one, that the first big public acts of the Obama administration are all flash without any substance. Who would expect anything else man who was elected on his ability to say "change" and "hope" while carefully avoiding specifics?