FRED BARNES IS THE WINGNUT FOOL OF TURKEY DAY

In the WSJ, he writes this nonsense:

Why Obama Isn't Changing Washington
There is no way he can grow the government without attracting more lobbyists and more political acrimony.
NOVEMBER 26, 2009, 6:57 P.M. ET

Mr. Obama also decried the prominent role played by lobbyists. "Lobbyists aren't just a part of the system in Washington, they're part of the problem," Mr. Obama said in a May 2008 campaign speech.

I was reminded of this last statement by a recent headline on the front page of USA Today. It read: "Health care fight swells lobbying. Number of organizations hiring firms doubles in '09." The article suggested that what Mr. Obama had promised to fix had only gotten worse.

The very next day, Dan Eggen of the WaPo gives us the facts:

Lobbyists pushed off advisory panels
White House initiative to limit influence could affect thousands
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 27, 2009

Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb K Street's influence in Washington, according to White House officials and lobbying experts.

The new policy -- issued with little fanfare this fall by the White House ethics counsel -- may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change so far from President Obama, who also has sought to restrict the ability of lobbyists to get jobs in his administration and to negotiate over stimulus contracts.

Under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies.