This article illustrates the difference between an administration that campaigns on the idea that government doesn't work versus an administration that campaigns on the idea of making government work.

It is a liberal/progressive idea that a functional representative democracy is intended to serve as the ultimate consumer protection agency. It is the notion of us, the people, electing officials to enact regulations to prevent the undue exploitation of the citizens, resources and the commons. Without this entity of the people, the electorate stands alone at the mercy of the economic elite and multinational corporate interests.

So what does this have to do with Change?

While Americans were focusing on color coded terror alerts, our protection agencies were turned over to the very entities that they were created to oversee. It comes as no surprise to learn that the party of Starve the Beast and the K-street Project facilitated a corporate takeover of our regulatory agencies; and unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. Below is a compare and contrast that shows some differences and similarities between this administration and the last.

Environmental Protection Agency under Bush:

Mike Leavitt, EPA administrator

Qualifications: As Utah governor he allowed US Magnesium to emit over 42 million tons of Chlorine per year - nine times the Chlorine emissions from all other states. Despite intense local pressure from citizen groups, Leavitt's Department of Environmental Quality failed to bring the polluter under control, forcing the EPA to step in.

Claim to fame: Leavitt downplayed the toxic releases of the mining industry - including the releases of the potent neurotoxin Mercury -by saying "in reality it is not pollution." Mercury is most damaging to pregnant mothers and babies in the womb.

Bonus: Leavitt later went on to head the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Linda Fisher: Deputy EPA Administrator

Qualifications: Former Monsanto V.P.

Claim to fame: Her appointment was opposed by critics of genetically modified (GM) foods who raised concerns about industry's ability to influence Fisher. Fisher lobbied on behalf of Monsanto from 1995 until 2000 and was a proponent of the decision not to mandate GM foods labeling.

Environmental Protection Agency under Obama:

Lisa Jackson‎, EPA Administrator

Qualifications: Jackson began her career at the EPA in1986. During her tenure, Jackson worked in the federal Superfund site remediation program, developing numerous hazardous waste cleanup regulations, overseeing hazardous waste cleanup projects throughout central New Jersey, and directing multimillion-dollar cleanup operations.

Claim to fame: After 16 years with EPA, Jackson joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as assistant commissioner of compliance and enforcement.. Jackson headed numerous programs, including land use regulation, water supply, geological survey, water monitoring and standards, and watershed management. Under her leadership, the state Department of Environmental Protection developed regulatory standards for implementing the landmark Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act.

Bob Perciasepe, Deputy EPA Administrator

Qualifications: Chief Operating Officer at the National Audubon Society. During the Clinton Administration, he served at EPA as the Assistant Administrator for Water and, subsequently, Air and Radiation. Prior to that, he held the posts of Secretary of Environment for the State of Maryland and Assistant Director of Planning for the City of Baltimore.

Claim to fame: Coordinated national and state programs for one of the country's leading environmental organizations.

Department of the Interior under Bush:

Secretary of the Interior, Gale A. Norton

Qualifications: Former mining industry lobbyist

Claim to fame: Proponent of "self-audit" laws, which allow industries to decide on their own whether or not they comply with environmental regulations. Among many proposals of note: abolishing the Bureau of Land Management, selling off fish and wildlife refuges to private ownership.

Bonus: In her position at Brownstein, Hyatt, Norton she worked as a registered lobbyist for NL Industries. NL Industries was a defendant in approximately 75 governmental and private actions associated with waste disposal sites, mining locations and facilities.

Deputy Secretary of the Interior, J. Steven Griles

Qualifications: Former oil and coal lobbyist

Claim to fame: J. Steven Griles violated recusal agreements in order to lobby on behalf of a company he formerly owned and from which he is not fully divested. A longtime lobbyist for the energy industry, Griles has met regularly with clients of his former employer, National Environmental Strategies (NES), during his tenure at Interior while receiving $284,000 per year from NES as part of a $1.1 million payout for his "client base."

Bonus: Griles eventually pleaded guilty to obstructing Congress, becoming the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Department of the Interior under Obama:

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar

Qualifications: Colorado Governor Cabinet member as Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources

Claim to fame: In this position, he authored the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment, which created a massive land conservation program of which he became chairman. Salazar also created the Youth in Natural Resources program to provide for environmental education in public schools. In his cabinet role, he established reforms that forced mining and petroleum operations to better protect the surrounding environment.

Hey, that's not Changey: In 2005, Salazar voted against increasing fuel-efficiency standards (CAFE) for cars and trucks, voted against an amendment to repeal tax breaks for ExxonMobil and voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast. In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects.

Deputy Secretary of the Interior, David J. Hayes

Qualifications: Served as Counselor to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, and then as the Senate-confirmed Deputy Secretary of the Interior, during the Clinton administration (1997-2001). After leaving government, he has served as a Senior Fellow of the World Wildlife Fund, and as a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute (the think tank affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council). He also has practiced environmental and energy law as Global Chairman of the Environment, Land and Resources department at the firm of Latham & Watkins.

Claim to fame: During Hayes' tenure as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, he focused on the acquisition and protection of threatened lands (e.g., the Headwaters old-growth redwood forest in Northern California); the restoration of threatened ecosystems (e.g. the Bay-Delta ecosystem restoration project in California); the introduction of modern water management approaches in the west (e.g. the Colorado River initiatives undertaken by the Clinton administration); the negotiation of habitat conservation plans under the Endangered Species Act; energy-related issues associated with federal lands and resources (e.g. oil and gas development, hydropower licensing, etc.); and the settlement of long-standing Indian water and land disputes.

So I think we can all agree that at least in this example, that Obama has fulfilled his promise to reduce lobbyist influence on government policy. One small step in a larger march to returning government to working for the people instead of the industries they were created to regulate.