I just went through 30 resumes and their corresponding cover letters from applicants ranging from New York grad students to smart Nebraskans. I don't recall one with a "Career Objective" section. In fact, had I seen that, it would have earned the applicant negative points by myself and most likely also from the two other people looking at the same set of resumes. It just screams, "I have no idea what I'm doing, but this is what my high school guidance counselor told me."
shrug