Lobbyists banned from Obama's transition

While banning lobbyists from a role in the transition, President-Elect Barack Obama is keeping many of his large fundraisers on his advisory board, according to a report by Bloomberg's Jonathan Salant.  Five of the 12 members of the transition advisory board raised over $50,000 for Obama in his presidential campaign.  "Transition co-Chairman John Podesta yesterday released rules banning registered lobbyists from raising money for the transition or working for the new administration in areas on which they represented clients. The new rules also prohibit members of the transition team who become lobbyists from trying to influence the administration on any issues that they worked on."  Critics say high-stakes fundraisers also bring influence to the table.