James A. Johnson, a leading member of the vice-presidential search team for Senator Barack Obama, quit his post with the campaign today after he and the campaign came under sustained Republican fire in the last several days for several favorable loans he had received.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/obamas-top-vetter-resigns/index.html?nl=pol&emc=pola1

I find this interesting, but not surprising given the media over the past couple of days. Obama supported his own decision to use him (he claimed he wasn't working for him so he didn't need to vet him and he wasn't going to vet the vetters (Obama's words, not mine - heard his comments on tv)).

What I find disconcerting is it adds one more name to the list of concerning relationships Obama has had by choice.

The campaign's strike back at McCain:

Round Two: Now Bill Burton, of the Obama campaign responds: “We don’t need any lectures from a campaign that waited fifteen months to purge the lobbyists from their staff, and only did so because they said it was a ‘perception problem. It’s too bad their campaign is still rife with lobbyist influence and doesn’t see a similar ‘perception problem’ with the man currently running their own vice presidential selection process, a prominent DC lobbyist whose firm has represented Exxon and a top Enron executive, or their campaign chair and John McCain’s top economic adviser Carly Fiorina, who presided over thousands of layoffs at Hewlett Packard while receiving a $21 million severance package and $650,000 in mortgage assistance.”