When the political landscape is determined by fundraising, when the need to politically mobilize depends upon large sums of cash, it forces us to look at where the money is coming from. Political donations might tend to act as a safeguard against legislation that might be hostile toward business interests, and not just on the national level. Local campaigns depend on the companies that employ large amounts of people within that community. Donations on such a large magnitude should be cause for us to think that money isnâÄôt just given out of the kindness of their hearts. There is still a trade, an IâÄôll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine attitude, and yet the rhetoric coming from President-elect Barack Obama never mentioned the millions of dollars in his campaign. IâÄôm not trying to downplay the monumental achievement of the Obama victory; historically it will be marked as progressive world achievement. I would just like to remind people that the president is just a piece of a puzzle, a segment of a larger system that long ago was broken and tainted as companies like the Pennsylvania Railroad leveraged their power and political connections to gain preferred legislation. The country by the people and for the people that Obama spoke of should be aware of how this system works. My hope is that people make sure the companies and their money get no preferential treatment when it comes to the challenges our country will face. The rhetoric of the campaign must be put to task, and there must be challenges when backsliding by the president is obvious. Now is the time to push for the world we want while the establishment appears to be willing to listen. Nolan Peterson University student