McCain defends lobbyist ties

INDIANAPOLIS - 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.

The issue of lobbying and influence has arisen in published reports, first in The New York Times and then in The Washington Post, suggesting that McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist and advanced the interests of her clients. McCain on Thursday emphatically denied the reports.

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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.

The Times said McCain was not alone among presidential candidates to rely on lobbyists to help run his campaign. In McCain's case, the Times said, "Since a cash crunch last summer, several of them — including his campaign manager, Rick Davis, who represented companies before Mr. McCain's Senate panel — have been working without pay, a gift that could be worth tens of thousands of dollars." McCain serves on the Senate Commerce Committee.

"I'm proud of the record of many of my advisers. One small example, Charlie Black. Charlie Black was involved in the first Reagan campaign, and he's been involved in every national presidential campaign since," McCain said. Black is chairman of the lobbying firm BKSH & Associates.