Jim Johnson | Capitol Street

If you are going to “talk the Talk” you must “walk the walk.” A bit cliche to be certain, but its the best way to explain why the Obama campaign parted ways with longtime Washington insider Jim Johnson.

Johnson was leading Obama’s VP search committee.

Officially, Johnson stepped down, but inside sources seem to believe he was asked to go.

Johnson has ties to troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Home Loans and it is being reported that he cut sweetheart deals for Countrywide CEO’s. Johnson also helped former Democratic presidential candidates Walter Mondale and Sen. John Kerry pick their running mates. He is also the former CEO of Fannie Mae.

Of course the McCain Campaign wasted no time jumping on this.

“It’s preposterous for Sen. Obama to claim that the leader of his VP selection committee isn’t working for him. Barack Obama has castigated Countrywide Financial, but now that Jim Johnson has been exposed for taking sweetheart deals from Countrywide’s CEO – Obama is in a state of denial. It’s that brand of weak leadership and hypocrisy that shows why Barack Obama has no record of taking courageous stands or making change in Washington.”

Look, Obama has said repeatedly that he will not be part of Washington inside politics, and that he will not play ball with fat cat lobbyists. In what I believe is a move, consistent with this policy, Johnson is now a “former” member of Obama’s staff.

As for the McCain campaign, they should focus less on hammering Obama, and more on purging their own lobbyist baggage including Vicki Iseman, Rick Davis, and Charlie Black. They may want to consider offing the dozens of Bush campaign insiders that now occupy positions as top staffers for McCain.

Obama’s judgement is flawed because of Johnson. McCain’s entire staff is an exercise in Washington and big business corruption politics.