Obama’s Small Donors: Goldman, Sachs & Co., UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, etc., etc.

After all the fuss about Barack Obama’s broken promise to accept public financing in the general election, it was even more disconcerting to read this expose of his campaign’s funding sources in today’s Chicago Tribune by Dennis Byrne. Byrne leads off:

“David Plouffe, manager of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, keeps sending me e-mails asking me to cough up money because the presumptive Democratic nominee's fundraising is, supposedly, as pure as the driven snow. Somehow, my name got on Obama's list of prospective suckers, and for months I've read this song and dance about how he has freed himself from the tentacles of special interests.

“This is baloney.”

Further down, Byrne states:

“Biggest donors?

“Goldman, Sachs & Co., UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, National Amusements, Lehman Brothers, Google, Sidley Austin, Skadden Arps, Time Warner, Morgan Stanley, Exelon, Latham & Watkins, Microsoft and GE are among the biggest corporate contributors.”

Byrne then asks?

‘“How can this be? Didn't Obama say he doesn't accept money from lobbyists and PACs? Well, that means he still can accept money from "spouses of lobbyists, non-lobbying partners who work for lobbying firms or for law firms that do lobbying, ex-lobbyists and state lobbyists," said the Center. ‘Because of contribution limits, organizations that bundle together many individual contributions are often among the top donors to presidential candidates. These contributions can come from the organization's members or employees [and their families].’”

Read the rest of Byrne’s article here.