The statement:
Barack Obama “changed the rules in Washington. Gone are the free gifts from lobbyists. Gone are the fancy airplane rides for nothing,” by Sen. Claire McCaskill in a TV ad.
The facts:
From the start of his presidential bid, Barack Obama has touted ethics as a major theme. He barred lobbyists and corporate political action committees from contributing money to his campaign, for example.
But his oft-repeated theme that he led the effort to pass ethics reform legislation in 2007 is much exaggerated.
McCaskill is referring to the law that Congress passed and President Bush signed in the wake of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
Obama backed the law but was not the leading player. He was most active on the issue a year earlier, but his bill did not pass.
When Democrats took control of both chambers in January 2007, they moved quickly on ethics reform, but most of the legwork was done by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
PolitiFact is a service of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly found online at .
