Trouble In Baradise?

Not a good 24 hours over at the White House.

First, they backtrack on the remarks of the President and HHS Secretary that a "public option" is not essential to the ObamaCare package. Then, they quietly disable the White House email address where Americans could rat out their fellow Americans for being "fishy" about ObamaCare. Finally, they reluctantly admit that they're changing the White House email procedures after David Axelrod spammed people - who did not solicit such spam - with pro-ObamaCare propaganda. (This last one comes after Press Secretary Extraordinaire Robert Gibbs admonished Fox's Major Garrett for even suggesting that the White House would ever send people unsolicited emails about ObamaCare.)

What on earth is going on over there? On the "public option" gaffe, one could reputably argue that the White House was just floating a trial balloon (albeit one that freaked out the Party's far-left wing). But the other two are just bush-league (no pun intended) stuff that you'd never expect from from the WORLD'SSMARTESTWHITEHOUSE.

Could Team HopeChange be folding under the very type of grass roots pressure that got them elected?

Sure seems that way, but I'm not getting too excited just yet.

Shocked & Appalled, part 163

The Hill reports on a verrrry interesting development regarding lobbying for Stimulus* dollars. Here's the backstory:

In March, President Obama announced that government officials would not be allowed to consider the views of lobbyists regarding specific stimulus projects unless the requests are put in writing. The materials also had to be posted on an agency’s website within three business days of receipt. Lobbyists have said that the policy was one more example of the administration's disdain for their industry.

And here's the inevitable reversal, unsurprisingly dropped on a Friday evening:

Now, the just-revised rules will allow government personnel to accept meetings and calls from federally registered lobbyists on the implementation of stimulus projects. The head of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, issued a new guidance late Friday regarding the administration's communications with registered lobbyists about economic recovery funds.

I, for one, am simply shocked at this development. This is not a very hopchangey move by the White House. How on earth could the evil lobbyists have won? Oh, wait. My hopechange-o-meter has dropped to an all-time low.

Well, at least those K Street leeches are nowhere near ObamaCare!

What's that? Oh, crap.