Quietly late Friday, Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to the President on Ethics and Government Reform, released new federal rules that barred public comments from any and all individuals with interests in the federal stimulus funding program. Already federally registered lobbyists are barred from making public comments about stimulus programs they or their clients might be interested in, and which may influence those federal officials determining where those stimulus dollars go.

Now, the White House is barring public comment from any individuals who might have an interest in the stimulus funding. According to government ethics lawyers, this rule could extend to a corporate official making a public speech in Washington, D.C. that might garner extensive press attention.

Good couple of months for Obama:

Taking over auto industry….check
Getting rid of free speech….check
Destroying the businesses of auto dealers who didn’t support Democrats….check
Tripling the nation dept and still blaming Bush….check
Throwing Israel under the bus……check
Watching North Korea make a nuclear test….check

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said McCain’s campaign “is run by lobbyists that represent Georgia and other countries.”

“He takes huge amounts of money from oil companies that are profiting in the (former) Soviet Union and many parts of the world,” the Democrat told ABC News, attempting to depict a conflict of interest for McCain.

Richardson, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, said the crisis vindicated Obama’s pledge to rebuild US alliances in Europe that were strained under President George W. Bush.

“This has been one of the failures of the Bush administration, failing to build a strong relationship, a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia, so we’d have the kind of influence to persuade them to stop some of these very, very dangerous efforts within their territory,” he said.

Richardson really ought to be embarassed at this awful display of political posturing such a fuid foreign policy and security issue. Georgia is an ally of the US and our other allies whom Richardson spins to suit his own political objectives. Of little matter to Richardson is the fact that Georgia is both a democracy and who’s troops serve alongside US troops in Iraq.