Sen. John McCain flanked by his wife Cindy, right, and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, third from right, meets with reporters in Indianapolis, Ind., Friday, Feb. 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
by Frank James
To paraphrase and distort a line from President Abraham Lincoln, God must love lobbyists because he made so many of them.
Even so, lobbyists have been the preferred whipping boys and girls of the current election year, particularly but not exclusively on the Democratic side.
John Edwards, the former presidential candidate, teed off on them every chance he got.
Sen. Barack Obama has also inveighed against lobbyists in an effort to portray himself as a new kind of Washington politician.
But Sen. Hillary Clinton has refused to attack lobbyists as a class, saying that many represent average working people, which is true.
On the Republican side, Mitt Romney, the former presidential candidate, got into a shouting match with an Associated Press reporter after the former Massachusetts governor bashed Sen. John McCain for having lobbyists high up in his campaign, with the reporter pointing out that Romney had better stop casting stones since he had lobbyists as top advisors tool.
Today, a day after he was accused in the pages of the New York Times of having too cozy of a relationship with lobbyists, McCain defended those who petition lawmakers on behalf of any number of special interests.
This is how the AP reported on McCain's comments today:
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Sen. John McCain said Friday that while lobbyists serve as close advisers to his presidential campaign, they are honorable and he is not influenced by corruption in the system.
McCain, who has styled himself as an enemy of special interests, defended having lobbyists working for his campaign. He is the expected Republican presidential nominee.
"These people have honorable records, and they're honorable people, and I'm proud to have them as part of my team," McCain told reporters following a town hall meeting in Indianapolis.
According to the AP story, McCain made an argument very similar to what Clinton has said in the past, that most lobbyists are good people who do legitimate work on behalf of their clients, that they aren't, per se. evil.
McCain was asked how he squares his image as a fighter of special interests with the fact that his senior campaign team is largely made up with lobbyists. McCain has battled to reform the system of influence in Washington through campaign finance restrictions, new ethics rules and opposition to the use of earmarks by members of Congress to fund pet projects.
"I square it one way," McCain said. "The right to represent interests or groups of Americans is a constitutional right. There are people that represent firemen, civil servants, retirees, and those people are legitimate representatives of a variety of interests in America.
"It's not whether the individuals, many of whom are very honorable — it's whether a system or people have violated the trust of the people as representatives," he said.
One such person who violated trust was Jack Abramoff who McCain has cited in the past when he needed an example of the kind of lobbyist he won't abide.
Indeed, it was McCain who heaped some of the most scalding criticism on the head of disgraced lobbyist when Abramoff's illegal dealing's were first exposed during Capitol Hill hearings.
Meanwhile, it appears McCain's strategy going forward for dealing with the Times story is to say he has no more to say.
The AP story reports that McCain was asked to react to comment from a White House spokesman who noted that the Times has a way of dropping a "bombshell" on Republicans who capture their party's presidential nomination
For his part, McCain refused to comment on the White House statements.
"I don't have any more comment about this issue. I had a press conference yesterday morning, and I answered every question," McCain said.
"I'm moving on. I'm talking about the issues and the challenges of America and the big issues that Americans are concerned about. I addressed the issue and addressed every question that was addressed to me.
"I do not intend to discuss it further," he told reporters.
His aides had spent Thursday attacking the Times, but McCain said Friday: "My campaign is not doing that anymore."
This strategy of trying to turn the page will only work if there's no new information produced by the Times or any other media organizations that pushed yesterday's story forward.
McCain's position that he has said all he's going to suggests he's pretty confident the Times has taken its best shot and failed and that they, nor anyone else, will dig up anything more damning than what's already out there.
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Comments
Obama has lobbyists working on his campaign and giving money to it (through wives and law partners). At least McCain doesn't lie about his lobbyist ties.
This woman got no favors and there was no improper relationship. If appearing in public with McCain is the evidence for having an affair with him, as the NYT would have us believe, then McCain's been shagging Tim Russert for the past 8 years.
Posted by: Jeff | February 22, 2008 2:36 PM
Beltway McCain should just say he won't talk about the past, like Bush did in 2000 when his DUI arrest was revealed.
Posted by: Paul | February 22, 2008 2:43 PM
"VICKI ISEMAN SPEAKS"
I TOO DON'T RECALL. I DON'T RECALL MEETING JOHN MCCAIN. I DON'T RECALL BEING ON A PLANE WITH JOHN MCCAIN. I DON'T RECALL LOBBYING FOR JOHN MCCAIN.
I DON'T KNOW WHY JOHN MCCAIN WROTE LETTERS ON MY BEHALF. HE DOESN'T RECALL SO I DON'T RECALL.
"COILPRO, COILPRO" ON BEHALF OF THE NY TIMES, "COILPRO"
ANY MORE QUESTIONS RELATING TO THIS "ON GOING INVESTIGATION" MAY IMPOSE EXTRAORDINARY COMPLIANCE BURDENS ON MY FORMER COMPANY PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS PART.
AS THIS IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION, "I DON'T RECALL" EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE WHITE HOUSE!
SO OF COURSE THERE IS NO VALIDITY TO A SEXUAL AFFAIR. "WHAT SEX GOT TO DO WITH IT" IT'S A SECOND HAND EMOTION.
SO WHAT DOES LOVE HAVE TO DO WITH IT, WHAT'S LOVE BUT A SECOND HANDED BACKDOOR DEAL FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES.
WHAT'S LOVE, SEX, AND HONOR HAVE TO DO WITH IT WHEN YOU CIRCUMVENT THE LAW FOR POLITICAL GAIN.
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT. WHAT'S LOVE BUT A SECOND-HAND EMOTION. I SWEAR HONEY, I DON'T RECALL! YES, I WROTE THE LETTERS, YES I WAS ON THE PLANE, BUT I DON'T RECALL WHAT HAPPENED, THAT WAS THEN THIS IS NOW. IT WAS ELECTION TIME ALL OVER AND I JUST DON'T RECALL.
VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN PRESIDENT THAT "WON'T RECALL." THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO QWEST EMPLOYEES THAT ARE STILL WITH A JOB!
GO VICKI! "KEEP AMERICA MOVING"
Posted by: Roger Morris | February 22, 2008 2:45 PM
Frank James, inadvertently of course, writes what the rest of America has known for the past two days:
"the Times has taken its best shot and failed."
Posted by: Jeff | February 22, 2008 2:45 PM
Even more amazing, Jeff, is that the Joke-une's Swamp in just two days has had more on McCain and the "lobbyist" than it has in more than a year on Obama and indicited Rezko.
Posted by: John D | February 22, 2008 2:52 PM
McCain's defense is already starting to fall apart. Newsweek has a story up, A Hole in McCain's Defense, and it reports that McCain's testimony in a previous matter contradicts part of his story told yesterday.
A sworn deposition that Sen. John McCain gave in a lawsuit more than five years ago appears to contradict one part of a sweeping denial that his campaign issued this week to rebut a New York Times story about his ties to a Washington lobbyist.
Further, this morning I heard news report reminding listeners that McCain has a lobbyist running his campaign, a lobbyist as political director.
The NYT and WaPo stories are just a starter pistol--for uncovering all the slime in McCain's past.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/114505
Posted by: Ned Flanders | February 22, 2008 2:55 PM
Even more amazing, Jeff, is that the Joke-une's Swamp in just two days has had more on McCain and the "lobbyist" than it has in more than a year on Obama and indicited Rezko.
Posted by: John D | February 22, 2008 2:52 PM
Liitle Johnny Hair-piece,
Pointing the finger at someone else isn't going to make John McCain/Bush's crimes go away.
Obama has already been cleared by a REPUBLICAN DoJ.
John McCain/Bush was repremanded for his involvement in the Keating scandel, anotherwords, McCain has a long histroy of doing "favors" for lobbyists.
Cover your RIGHT EYE and check out the latest campaign photo of the "Straight-talking, Maverick" ;)
http://www.dudehisattva.com/
Posted by: John E | February 22, 2008 3:07 PM
McCain's a liar.He literally and figuratively is and was "in bed" with lobbyist.
Home / News / Nation / Washington
McCain interceded for donors, data show
Email|Print| Text size – + By Anne E. Kornblut and Walter V. Robinson
Globe Staff / January 9, 2000
WASHINGTON - Senator John McCain raised nearly $90,000 from broadcast and telecommunications companies in four instances shortly before or after he interceded on their behalf with federal regulators in 1998 and 1999, according to campaign records reviewed yesterday.
more stories like this
McCain defends pressing agency to act on license
McCain pressed FCC on TV deal
Senator's niche image takes a hit
McCain's links to telecom lobbyist alarmed advisers
Evangelical leader Bauer endorses McCain
Aides released about 500 letters that McCain has written as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee since 1997, and it appeared last night that only 15 involved contributors to his campaigns. McCain, who has built his presidential candidacy around denunciations of special-interest money in Washington, said yesterday that his only concern was to protect consumers.
But in several cases, according to federal campaign finance records that were matched against the letters, the correspondence to the Federal Communications Commission, which McCain's committee oversees, coincided with substantial fund-raising efforts by the companies that stood to benefit from his actions.
In one case, officials of BellSouth Corp. donated $16,750 to the Arizona senator at a fund-raiser on May 6, 1998. Four months later, McCain asked the FCC in a letter to give ''serious consideration'' to allowing BellSouth to enter the long-distance market.
Anyone who has followed McCain knows he's a "Philanderer".
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2000/01/09/mccain_interceded_for_donors_data_show/
Posted by: Raving Loon | February 22, 2008 3:12 PM
This woman got no favors and there was no improper relationship. If appearing in public with McCain is the evidence for having an affair with him, as the NYT would have us believe, then McCain's been shagging Tim Russert for the past 8 years.
Posted by: Jeff | February 22, 2008 02:36 PM
The GOPer Titanic is already sinking.
Pass the popcorn, Jeff!
Posted by: John E | February 22, 2008 3:15 PM
Poor little Jeffy and his wingnut buddies have hitched their wagon to Grampa McCain and his host of lobbyists. Grampa is up to his eyeballs in pay to play. I'm old enough to remember the 'Keating Five'. Soon, millions of other Americans are going to be reminded as well. Thanks for nominating the most corrupt choice.
Pass the popcorn!
Posted by: weinerdog43 | February 22, 2008 3:46 PM
Yawn...He also defends Paris Hilton and the need to make sure she pays little to no income taxes.
Posted by: john | February 22, 2008 4:48 PM
There are quite a few politicians sleeping with lobbyists and make no secret of it. They're married to them. Its all legal. Isn't it Senator Durbin?
Posted by: whatnow | February 22, 2008 5:52 PM
Oh, Now Senator McCain believes lobbyists are the good guys.
"McCAIN: The fact is if you want to drain the swamp, you take the big money away from the big-time K Street lobbyists and that way they lose their power and their influence. Look, anybody who wants the status quo in Washington, they don’t want John McCain. Because there ain’t going to be the status quo when I’m president of the United States. You take away the big money, you’re going to take away their power and you’re going to break that iron triangle of lobbyists, big money and influence over the legislative process which has so badly embarrassed so many of us and it is the gateway to draining the swamp."
I guess he changed his mind, huh?
Posted by: Michael | February 22, 2008 7:36 PM
The times reported. McCain looked like a lying fool. His body language showed there was more to the story. He blinked like crazy and tried to laugh it off. The times gave him enough rope to hang his campaign, i think there will be alot more to come out soon.
Now he's battling the FEC too..not good.
Nice to know he's out flying around with the owner of Fox news. No wonder they favor him.
Posted by: cons3rvative | February 22, 2008 9:00 PM
Would McCain pass a lie detector? Was he cool as a snake or jittery like a butterfly?
Posted by: Lou | February 22, 2008 9:19 PM
McCain is right to ignore the NYT. We know what it is: A biased rag with no integrity, no standards, and no honesty. Why waste time on it? Even its publisher gives it only five years of survival. At this rate, the clock is ticking even faster.
Posted by: Alfredo | February 23, 2008 10:22 AM
OK, let's see, the Lawyers are backing the left, the teachers union are backing the left, the teamsters are backing the left, etc..... the union, union, union, union, union, union.
Wait for it folks, in the intelligent words of one of the Swamps Obama supporters, you "morons", are so stupid, why, don't you know they all do the same as Private sector-Lobbyists, and any Union-Lobbyists. They're all freaking lobbyist's, you socialists.
Hows that.....
Posted by: PG | February 23, 2008 4:17 PM
Shorter PG:
Zerch! Freagle! Ipxnit! Norgon! Etc...
Complete nonsense is funny to read.
Posted by: weinerdog43 | February 23, 2008 8:33 PM