Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been dueling for the approval and support of Big Labor. Both have supported nearly every item on their wish list–including opposing secret ballot union elections and the Colombia free trade deal. Now Obama is in some hot water for (at the very least) giving the Teamsters the impression that he would lift the government supervision of the union which was enacted after mob infiltration and corruption were uncovered in the 1980’s. (The Teamsters, not surprisingly, rewarded him with their endorsement.)

If the shoe was on the other foot, and John McCain was carrying water for a corporate special interest, you could bet there would be a hue and cry. The reaction to the Democrats’ abject pandering to Big Labor is rather ho-hum, especially in the case of the Agent of Change. The media never seems to raise the concern that his devotion to banishing special interests is a bit one-sided (that is, he’s all for banishing the other guy’s special-interest supporters). Part of this is the media’s disinclination to press Obama and part is the fault of the McCain camp, which seems more obsessed with its own candidate’s image and press coverage than publicly and consistently going after his potential Democratic opponents for hypocrisy. So from the Democrats’ perspective, there is little downside if they keep on pandering to the whims of Big Labor.