Reply #5: It's simply another page in the same book, with the same rules, and

[Obamanaut]

only minor changes in the players.


This snip is two years old, but it gives an idea of how hopey/changey has turned into ‘business as usual

<snip>White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, said yesterday that President Obama will sign the $410 billion omnibus spending bill recently passed by the Democratic controlled Congress. The bill contains some 9,000 earmarks, spending items inserted by individual Congressmen for pet projects in their districts. When he signs the bill, Obama will violate a promise he made on the campaign trail to reduce the number of earmarks, or pork projects, in legislation. More at link>

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/03/02/obama-to-break-campaign-promise-sign-earmark-laden-spending-bil/

This one reinforces the first one - the names and players change, but the game continues as before.

Obama's promise to go after earmarks 'line by line'
By Bill Adair
Published on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 p.m.


During the presidential campaign, earmark reform was a major theme for John McCain, who often highlighted projects of other candidates that he considered wasteful. During the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, 2008, Barack Obama said he had stopped requesting earmarks as a senator and that he shared McCain's desire for earmark reform and the elimination of wasteful projects.

McCain noted that Obama had made $932 million in earmark requests during his first three years as a senator and he criticized Obama for saying earmarks accounted for "only $18 billion" in federal spending. <more at link>

http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/mar/03/obamas-promise-go-after-earmarks-line-line/


Oh, and GITMO is still open, too.

All these earmarks will pass. It’s the way things are.