The Big Question is a feature where influential lawmakers, pundits and interest group leaders give their answers to a question that’s driving discussion in news circles around the country.

Today’s Big Question is:

Can Obama avoid being tainted by the Blagojevich scandal?

See responses below from CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan, Hudson Institute President Dr. Herbert London, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton and Americans United for Change President Brad Woodhouse.

Melanie Sloan, executive director, Citizens for Responsibility an Ethics in Washington said:

If “tainted” means recognizing that Obama and Blagojevich are both politicians and both hail from the state of Illinois, then sure he’s tainted, as is every other politician from Illinois. Read the full response

Dr. Herbert London, president, Hudson Institute said:

The extent to which president-elect Obama will be involved is very much dependent upon whether Mr. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, decides to investigate historical antecedents in the relationship between the two. Read the full response

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One of the consistent messages we’ve heard this year is that there really is a lack of confidence from the American people – the economy, diplomacy, everything. We’re about as low as low can get.

The first thing President-elect Obama can demonstrate, which he already has and that’s why he’s been more visible and vocal than our current administration, is that he has a plan, he’s ready to step forward, and he’s willing to help us to take those next steps. I’m hoping is one he will help exude that confidence. Right now, if you ask people about the Congress or the Administration, he has the highest support that exists. I hope he will use that support to express confidence. Read the rest of this entry »

Next Congress I want us to be able to put together a massive recovery deal so that President-elect Obama can sign it in his first few minutes in office. I would hope that he will continue to do those things that are inspiring the American people. So much of what our challenges are going to be as a nation, and our ability to meet those challenges, will rest upon the dreams, aspirations, and hope of the American people. It will give us a foundation to move forward. So far, the American people are inspired and I hope that continues.

I think Obama clearly, already, is planning to focus on an economic stimulus package to turn the economy around. If he has any priority the first couple months he has to focus on that. We have a lot of other priorities but that’s going to be job one.

After an auto bailout measure passed in the House, Senate leadership on Thursday was confident that a compromise on an auto rescue plan would be voted on soon.

Fannie May and Freddie Mac were so busy trying to make a profit, particularly it seems like after 2004, that they had warnings that these securities were not sound and they had a lot of red flags but they didn’t halt purchasing them. I think that played a role in many of the problems that we’re experiencing today in our financial markets. As I said in the hearing Tuesday, there were a lot of people involved in this process and I think it’s a mistake to put more blame on Freddie Mac and Fannie May than they deserve. I think they were a part of the puzzled problem.

The other thing that I was impressed with was when Franklin Raines said there were basically three things we need to do. We need to have serious regulations, we need to come up with ways of more effectively protecting consumers, and we need to address the issue of restructuring loans. It seems like Secretary Paulson and others who could effect those kind of decisions are putting particularly the restructuring of loans on the backburner, and if not on the backburner, off the stove completely.

The United States military is surely the most advanced fighting machine in the world, but we’ve learned that the blunt instrument of military force isn’t always enough to keep us safe. With transnational terrorism, humanitarian disasters, and roller-coaster energy prices now counted among threats to our security, the Obama administration has to concentrate on building the civilian-run tools of national defense. America needs capacities like a bigger Foreign Service, effective public diplomacy and developmental assistance, and increased intelligence collection.

Unlikely though it may be, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is leading this charge, calling for “a dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security.”
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I think everybody’s trying to say we had nothing to do with this when in fact, just as the testimony said, yes they did. Fannie May and Freddie Mac are victims of the fall but they’re the ones that created the bubble that caused the problem.

The real testimony is, private or public you cannot break the basic laws of financial responsibility and expect the outcome to be good in the long run. You might be able to get through a couple elections, giving loans to the people that will vote for you or support you, but eventually the system crashes and the most vulnerable are the ones who are always hurt. So the people you are claiming you are doing this for are the ones that end up being the greatest victims of your action or inaction.

Late Tuesday night, the White House and the Congressional Leadership reached a general agreement on a $15-billion bailout bill for the auto industry. There are still some points that reportedly need to be worked out, and some Senate Republicans remain reluctant to support the package, which could threaten its passage by that body.

But, from what we’ve seen of the bill so far, here’s a quick overview:

• Calls for a $15 billion package of short-term loans for U.S. automakers taken from the Dept. of Energy “retooling” loan program already signed into law.   (Few recall that Congress already passed a $25 billion loan program for the automakers in September.) Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) unveiled a new project called the Center for Fiscal Accountability. The project specifically strives:

• To work with policymakers and activists to enhance transparency in government spending by creating searchable online databases;

• To develop best practices based on experiences at various levels of government;

• To highlight developments and efforts pertaining to the area of fiscal accountability;

• To educate taxpayers on fraud, waste and abuse in government finance and to provide them with the tools to combat these;

• To serve as a clearinghouse for information and to facilitate contact between parties involved in the effort to make government more accountable to taxpayers.

Not only does this website endeavor to hold federal government agencies accountable, it is also zeroing in on keeping state and local government accountable and transparent.

Here is a link if you’re interested in making sure your government is accountable to you.

Cross-posted from TownHall.com