Legal Pop Campaign Advice Corner #1: Obama on Clinton's Lack of Tranparency

Welcome to the Legal Pop Campaign Advice Corner (CAC), a semi-regular feature in which your intrepid blogger offers advice to a current presidential candidate on an issue confronting that campaign.

This week, for the inaugural CAC, we're going to offer advice to Legal Pop's endorsed candidate, Barack Obama. The advice is in the form of a speech (or portion thereof) that the candidate and his surrogates should use to attack Clinton - not personally, but on the issues - regarding her failures to disclose her tax returns, donations to her husband's foundation, etc.

"Ladies and gentlemen, throughout this campaign I have attempted to avoid the old politics of distrust, fear, and vitriolic attacks, and replace those tactics with honesty, hope, and a fair dialogue with you, the American people, on where I stand on the issues. I owe it to you as a candidate, and you deserve it as voters in this country, to know exactly where I stand on the issues - even if we disagree, I will listen to you and consider opposing viewpoints, and you in turn will know my reasons and principles for my stance on certain issues.

Transparency and honesty, you see, are important to leadership. And all elected officials owe it to you to be transparent on their beliefs, their stance of the issues, and their backgrounds and qualifications for holding public office. My campaign has been and my presidency, if elected, will be always honest and transparent with the American people.

Senator Clinton and her campaign have not been transparent with you. She has not disclosed her and her husband's tax returns since they left the White House; I, on the other hand, have released all of my tax returns, and will release my 2007 tax returns once I file them. She has claimed 35 years of experience, and yet has not released her schedule and records from meetings she participated in as First Lady, making it impossible for you, the voters, to assess that experience. She has taken more money from special interests and lobbyists than any other candidate, Democratic or Republican, in this race, and has withheld records related to donations made to her husband's foundation, making it impossible for the American people to evaluate who or what organizations are going to be influencing policy decisions if she were to be elected.

Last night, I was watching television, and it occurs to me that Senator Clinton is playing "Deal or No Deal" with the American people in this election. She's hiding her tax returns, records of her supposed experience, and the identities of persons or organizations that might have powerful influence over her administration behind locked suitcases, and asking all of you to play along and vote for her anyways.

Well, this election is not a game show. It's an important decision. A decision between working towards a new future where Democrats, Republicans, and Independents pull together in my campaign to solve the challenges of our country, or a bridge to the past and the old politics of personal attacks, deceit, backroom deals, and a lack of transparency with the American people.

I've opened my suitcase, Senator Clinton, and millions of Americans of all political beliefs, races, ages, and creeds have united behind my candidacy, because Americans want and deserve honesty and transparency in leadership. I think it's far past time for you to open yours."