First, purge all the lobbyists

Information. Access. Money. In the nation's capital, it's the currency of movers and shakers. If you have one, you can barter for the other two. And if you have all three, well, chances are, you're a top lobbyist.

John McCain and Barack Obama have been purging their campaigns of lobbyists. Perhaps they truly hear the loud and clear call for change coming from our nation's suffering middle and lower classes, whose interests are almost never put ahead of the corporate profits these lobbyists protect.

The sunshine from news media coverage has pushed them to disinfect their campaigns, but we know there's much more they can do. The sway lobbyists hold over our elected leaders has become so corrupting that the K Street legions operate almost as a shadow government.

Lobbyists peddle what candidates rely on most -- cash, connections to powerful people with cash, and ...