bloomberg.com
McCain's Reformer Role May Falter Amid Lobbyist Ties
By Edwin Chen and Jonathan D. Salant
May 30 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain became livid when he learned that two top campaign officials had worked as lobbyists for the military dictatorship in Myanmar. He banished them and ordered up ``the most comprehensive and most transparent'' guidelines governing lobbyists in a presidential campaign.
``I didn't like it,'' McCain told reporters. ``Saw a problem; fixed it.''
Not without real costs. McCain has lost five top aides amid suggestions that his campaign was dominated by lobbyists, a shakeup that's created tension among remaining staffers; his image as a crusader against ``special interests'' has been tarnished; and his response to the first rough patch of his general-election race leaves him vulnerable to further attacks, because lobbyists and former lobbyists continue to help his candidacy, including as fundraisers.
``While McCain is probably in the 20 percent or so of members of Congress most concerned about ethics and cracking down on lobbyists' influence, virtually no member is as clean as he claims to be,'' said political analyst Charlie Cook.
McCain, 71, says he isn't worried, even though his top two remaining aides -- manager Rick Davis and strategist Charlie Black -- are former lobbyists whose clients included dictators.
``They've been out of that business,'' said the Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
`Everybody's in Compliance'
McCain's May 15 guidelines ban all registered lobbyists and foreign agents from the campaign.
Lobbyists may serve as part-time volunteers on advisory committees. They are barred from lobbying McCain or his staff during the campaign and from any role in policy-making on matters related to their registered field of lobbying. ``Everybody's in compliance with the policy,'' said spokesman Brian Rogers.
Still, the issue continues to plague the campaign.
In a sign of the heightened sensitivity toward lobbying ties, McCain's usually chatty senior staffers, including Black, refuse to discuss the matter, referring questions to Jill Hazelbaker, the communications director.
McCain is also keeping a distance from his traveling press corps, whom he once playfully described as ``my base.''
Since mid-May, when the controversy flared, McCain has often barred reporters from joining him in the back of his ``Straight Talk Express'' bus -- as they used to do, sometimes for hours at a time. On a May 21 cross-country flight, he never ventured near the back of his jet, where reporters sit.
`Transparent Policy'
During a May 19 press conference, when asked repeatedly why he hadn't shown concern sooner about the influence of lobbyists, McCain looked ahead and delivered virtually the same words: ``We have enacted the most comprehensive and transparent policy of any presidential campaign in history.'' He challenged Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama to ``adopt the same policy.'' During McCain's third repetition, most reporters stopped taking notes.
To be sure, lobbyists understand how to work the levers of power -- an asset to presidents. Dealing with them presents a balancing act between using their expertise and looking compromised.
``We took that into consideration when we drafted the guidelines,'' Hazelbaker said. ``Lobbyists are not bad people; they have a constitutional right to lobby the government.''
Obama has had his own snags in dealing with lobbyists. Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that the Illinois senator's campaign co-director in Puerto Rico is a federal lobbyist. A campaign spokesman said Francisco Pavia is a volunteer, so his presence doesn't violate Obama's guidelines, which ban lobbyists from working on staff.
Lobbying for Junta
McCain issued his rules after Newsweek magazine on May 10 revealed that Doug Goodyear, brought on as a volunteer to manage the Republican convention this summer, is chief executive officer of DCI Group, a consultancy that earned $348,000 in 2002 representing Myanmar's junta. At the same time, Doug Davenport, a regional campaign director, was ousted because of his work for that country.
``I just said: `Implement this policy; make sure it's effective,''' McCain said.
Three other aides have departed, most notably former Texas Representative Tom Loeffler, the campaign's national finance co-chairman, whose lobbying firm had represented Saudi Arabia.
Many lobbyists continue to promote McCain's election. Among them are seven fundraisers who have each brought in at least $250,000 for the campaign, including Stanton Anderson, senior counsel to the CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Phil Gramm, Lobbyist
Until recently, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, a vice chairman of UBS Securities LLC, was registered to lobby for the bank while advising McCain. He's no longer a registered lobbyist.
Black retired from his lobbying firm, BKSH & Associates, to remain with McCain's campaign. His previous clients included former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Zaire strongman Mobuto Sese Seko.
Davis remains an owner of Davis Manafort Inc., which has represented the government of Nigeria. He also represented companies such as BellSouth Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., even as McCain headed the Senate Commerce Committee.
McCain's lobbying policy ``misses the mark,'' said David Donnelly, director of nonpartisan Public Campaign Action Fund's Campaign Money Watch.
``If he depends on those who will lobby his administration for raising money,'' Donnelly said, ``he will owe them favors.''
Black, in a May 19 airplane conversation before campaign aides began stiff-arming the press on the issue, dismissed such talk as ``complete inside-the-Beltway nonsense.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at echen32@bloomberg.net; and Jonathan Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 30, 2008 13:54 EDT |
