Lobbyists

Dumb.

I've never understood the obsession people have with banning lobbyists from transition teams, appointments, staff positions, etc. Granted, I'm probably biased, but it really is dumb. No person exists who doesn't have personal relationships and so the idea that somehow a lobbyist is too corrupted to serve in these positions ignores the fact that all people bring baggage to the table. There are a few kind of lobbyists. One type is the former legislator/bigwig that trades on their relationships and insight into the process. Another type of lobbyist is the subject matter expert. Those folks know more about the issues then other people. And they should, it is their job to know more than other people. That also makes them uniquely qualified to serve.

Obama seems to have taken the worst approach of all. Pretend like it is a huge problem to have former lobbyists in certain positions while recognizing that they are uniquely qualified and then finding a way around it. Like I said, it's dumb.