I don't know what the current number is... but he had 66 lobbyists on staff a few months ago.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called lobbyists “birds of prey” Wednesday and vowed to enforce a lifetime ban on lobbying for members of his administration.
“Whenever there’s a corrupt system, then you’re going to have these birds of prey descend on it to get their share of the spoils,” McCain said in a half-hour interview with Politico following a town-hall meeting in the southern part of this swing state.
McCain, clearly weary of vice-presidential speculation, began by saying preemptively that he was not going to say anything about the hot topic. His mood initially seemed sour, and his answers were clipped, although he warmed as the conversation went on.
“Let me just begin by saying that to save you some time, I’m not going to comment on the vice president,” he said. “You can ask away, but … I’m sure you understand.”
The topic of lobbyists is sensitive for McCain because several of his top aides had lucrative lobbying practices.
His tough new language is designed to build his case that he would be an agent of change in a race against an opponent who has built his entire campaign on the premise that he will reform the political status quo in Washington.
“I point out what my record is, which is one that has not won me Miss Congeniality over the years,” he said. “People want change in America — we all know that — and very legitimately so.”
The senator went so far as to say: “Lobbyists don’t come to my office. Because they know they’re not going to be an earmark. They know they’re not going to get a pork-barrel project. Senator Obama’s gotten lots of ’em.:”
McCain’s plan for the strict admonition on future lobbying by White House aides is part of a policy he imposed on his campaign staff this spring after questions were raised about their past clients.
“I would not allow anyone who worked for my administration to go back to lobbying,” McCain said. “They would have to make that pledge.”
