While he was president, Barack Obama seldom missed an opportunity to decry cronyism between big business and public officials. It undermined Americans’ faith in government, he opined.

Of course, Obama is well aware of the “revolving door” phenomenon in Washington, in which government officials do nice things for big business — with the understanding that when they leave office, they will get nice things in return.

It has been revealed that Obama will be paid $400,000 for a September speaking engagement with Cantor Fitzgerald LP, the big New York investment banking and brokerage firm.

Obama is cashing in on the very type of behavior he once criticized. As Aaron Blake of The Washington Post put it, “Other presidents will know that such payments are on the table, and it risks coloring their decisions with regard to Wall Street and special interests.

Obama is not the first former high-ranking public official to engage in such hypocrisy, of course. Ask Hillary and Bill Clinton about that.

Continuing that tradition is a huge mistake.