NPR [3] reports that "Barack Obama [4], exerting his new power as leader of his party, has told the Democratic National Committee [5] (DNC) to eschew all contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action committees [6] (PACs). ... Obama also dispatched a close adviser, consultant Paul Tewes [7], to the DNC. ... Lobbyists have been fundamental to most modern presidential campaigns -- and controversial, too. But never before have they been treated this harshly, as pariahs, as Obama and Republican John McCain [8] joust to be the reformer of Washington's sinful ways. McCain's campaign hit back at Obama on Thursday, pointing out that he has been endorsed by the progressive group MoveOn.org [9], which is organized as a PAC. MoveOn this week is urging its members to contribute to Obama." Obama's advisor Paul Tewes' firm, Hildebrand Tewes Consulting [10], also runs MoveOn's anti-war coalition, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq [11]. "For the DNC, the bottom-line question is whether Obama's edict will hurt the budget. The answer is almost certainly no."