Throughout the Presidential primary Senator Barack Obama has been claiming that he is going to bring “Change” to Washington.  One argument he uses is his refusal to take contributions from lobbyists or Political Action Committees (PAC’s). His campaign web site states, “A High Standard: Unlike other candidates Obama’s campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action committees.”   Obama’s web site goes on to tout his “Plan to Change Washington” by saying “I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president.”He has consistently criticized his primary opponent Senator Hillary Clinton for taking contributions from lobbyists and PAC’s, as pointed out by the Boston Globe. Obama’s campaign put up an ad on YouTube to emphasize the point.  The ad attempts to tie contributions to political favors from elected officials.  The ad concludes with the following text, "We can't end the Washington game until we change the players." In this “game” as Obama describes it there are two teams…the lobbyists and PAC’s…and the recipients of their largess. Senator Obama is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). The CBC is comprised of African American Members of Congress from the House and Senate and has several additional entities which include the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and its subsidiary the CBC Spouses. Senator Obama’s wife Michelle is a member of the CBC Spouses.   Obama has consistently played down any relationship he has with lobbyists. However, research by MajorityAP.com shows a different story. As reported by MajorityAP.com  in June of 2007 the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses held a fundraising golf tournament on June 24 – 25, 2007 at the Four Diamond Award-winning Lansdowne Resort in Virginia, “Pledging the attendance of nearly a dozen member of Congress – including the Chair of the House ethics committee – the charitable foundation of the Congressional Black Caucus has been soliciting contributions of up to $80,000 from Washington, DC, lobbyists for its annual golf tournament …” Photo number 73 from this event on the CBC Foundation web site shows sponsors for this event. It lists lobbying firms, pharmaceutical and energy companies as well as several other organizations. Just one month later MajorityAP.com reported on another CBC event that targeted lobbyists for contributions to an Annual Legislative Conference. “In an e-mail solicitation widely distributed to Congressional lobbyists, Elsie Scott, President and CEO of the CBC Foundation, is asking for ‘a minimum purchase of a $10,000 Silver Table for the Annual Awards Dinner,’” which was held on September 26 - 29 at the Washington, D.C., Convention Center. “Scott promised to have the ‘42 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) join with key political, business and civic leaders,’ and notes the event ‘is a well-chosen moment for bringing together businesses and savvy consumers.’" Photos number 28 and 50 from this event on the CBC Foundation web site show Senator Obama in attendance and smiling with guests.  As they have done for several years the CBC Spouses are holding a fundraising golf tournament. It will be held on June 21 – 22, 2008 at the Four Diamond Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Virginia. Sponsorships are being solicited for the event range from $5,000 to $100,000. A review of the tournament committee shows Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the Chairwoman of the House of Representatives Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (sometimes referred to as the Ethics Committee) as Co-chair.  The other Co-chair is a member of the CBC Spouses organization. The remainder of the committee lists several lobbyists and their organizations.  The promotional page for the CBC Foundations 2008 Annual Legislative Conference being held September 24-27 at the Washington, D.C., Convention Center shows a photo of Senator Obama and lists pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly as the premier sponsor, a privilege that cost them $500,000. Additional sponsorships are available for this event starting at $500 and going to $300,000. There is ongoing financial interaction between lobbyists and the CBC organizations of which the Obama’s are members. As with lobbyists Obama has continually railed against Senator Clinton for taking contributions from PAC’s. While his Presidential campaign has not taken PAC contributions the same cannot be said for many who support him. So far Obama has accepted the endorsement of 95 Members of the House of Representatives (listed below).  Every one of the members of the House of Representatives who are supporting Obama has taken PAC contributions - from a low of $63,500 to over $1,000,000. The list below shows the contributions these members have received from PAC’s so far this election cycle.Combined these Members of Congress have taken in a total of $36,414,843 from Political Action Committees.   As Obama said in his YouTube ad "We can't end the Washington game until we change the players."If Senator Obama gets his way and “change[s] the players” it looks like he will be playing in an empty sandbox.United States House of RepresentativesMember of CongressPAC ContributionsRep. Neil Abercrombie (HI)$434,500 Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI)$212,166 Rep. Brian Baird (WA)$205,702 Rep. John Barrow (GA)$797,750 Rep. Melissa Bean (IL)$1,288,344 Rep. Xavier Becerra (AZ)$587,018 Rep. Howard Berman (CA)$275,710 Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA)$329,143 Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR)$384,674 Rep. Rick Boucher (VA)$825,598 Rep. Bruce Braley (IA)$299,500 Rep. G.K. Butterfield (NC)$331,361 Rep. Lois Capps (CA)$273,457 Rep. Michael Capuano (MA)$260,362 Rep. Russ Carnahan (MO)$402,695 Rep. Andre Carson (IN)$550,647 Rep. Kathy Castor (FL)$165,461 Rep. Ben Chandler (KY)$347,263 Rep. Lacy Clay (MO)$257,008 Rep. Steve Cohen (TN)$212,600 Rep. John Conyers (MI)$349,001 Rep. Jim Cooper (TN) - $107,500 Rep. Jerry Costello (IL)$453,660 Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD)$345,600 Rep. Artur Davis (AL)$670,950 Rep. Danny Davis (IL)$174,598 Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR) $259,585 Rep. William Delahunt (MA)$63,500 Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT)$406,500 Rep. Norm Dicks (WA)$250,750 Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX)$301,383 Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN)$870,073 Rep. Chet Edwards (TX)$800,029 Rep. Keith Ellison (MN)$168,849 Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA)$464,978 Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA)$104,500 Rep. Bill Foster (IL) - $543,902 Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (TX)$342,500 Rep. Al Green (TX)$112,000 Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ)$164,509 Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL)$55,180 Rep. Phil Hare (IL)$397,069 Rep. Baron Hill (IN)$1,005,865 Rep. Mazie Hirono (HI)$298,950 Rep. Paul Hodes (NH)$726,102 Rep. Jay Inslee (WA)$291,694 Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL)$310,475 Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX)$185,600 Rep. Hank Johnson (GA)$179,667 Rep. Steve Kagen (WI)$664,115 Rep. Ron Kind (WI) - $354,490 Rep. Patrick Kennedy (RI)$282,232 Rep. Rick Larsen (WA)$449,192 Rep. John Larson (CT)$373,450 Rep. Barbara Lee (CA)$152,335 Rep. John Lewis (GA)$457,500 Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL)$275,026 Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA)$401,650 Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA)$251,763 Rep. Betty McCollum (MN)$200,700 Rep. Jim McDermott (WA)$156,799 Rep. Brad Miller (NC)$339,810 Rep. George Miller (CA)$386,529 Rep. Harry Mitchell (AZ)$513,457 Rep. Gwen Moore (WI)$228,460 Rep. Jim Moran (VA)$310,745 Rep. Chris Murphy (CT)$697,296 Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA)$812,620 Rep. Jim Oberstar (MN)$654,223 Rep. David Obey (WI)$687,928 Rep. Donald Payne (NJ)$246,650 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO)$564,175 Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND)$1,004,514 Rep. David Price (NC)$275,850 Rep. Nick Rahall (WV)$240,100 Rep. Steve Rothman (NJ)$344,885 Rep. Bobby Rush (IL)$171,473 Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA)$221,551 Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD)$551,550 Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL)$198,500 Rep. Adam Schiff (CA)$290,387 Rep. Bobby Scott (VA)$139,300 Rep. David Scott (GA)$463,878 Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH)$245,633 Rep. Adam Smith (WA)$190,362 Rep. Pete Stark (CA)$388,660 Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS)$588,989 Rep. Peter Visclosky (IN)$462,600 Rep. Tim Walz (MN)$602,030 Rep. Mel Watt (NC) - $189,016 Rep. Henry Waxman (CA)$330,060 Rep. Peter Welch (VT)$190,410 Rep. Robert Wexler (FL)$342,800 Rep. David Wu (OR)$247,200 Rep. John Yarmuth (KY)$428,022