HILLARY CLINTON RECEIVES MORE MONEY FROM LOBBYISTS THAN ANY OTHER CANDIDATE
Feb 18, 2008

Feb.
4 (Bloomberg) -- Democrat Hillary Clinton has raised more money from
lobbyists than any other presidential candidate while Republican John
McCain has more of them assisting his campaign.

Clinton took in
$823,087 from registered lobbyists and members of their firms in 2007
and the second-biggest recipient was McCain, who took in $416,321,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based
group which tracks political giving. Barack Obama, Clinton's rival for
the Democratic nomination, doesn't take money from registered
lobbyists, although he received $86,282 from employees of firms that
lobby, according to the center.

McCain has 26 registered
lobbyists as campaign advisers or fundraisers compared with 11 for
Clinton and none for Obama, according to review of records compiled by
Public Citizen, a Washington-based group that favors stronger
disclosure laws for lobbyists.

Even as they pledge to rein in
special interests, the leading Democratic and Republican candidates are
relying on lobbyists to bring in campaign cash by raising money from
other donors, a technique known as bundling.

``These bundlers
and advisers are central to the financial success of top presidential
candidates,'' said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center
for Responsive Politics. ``As such, they will essentially carry with
them an IOU from the campaign.''

Lobbyist Bundlers

Clinton's
total from lobbyists is a fraction of what they raise on her behalf;
her campaign doesn't disclose which donations are brought in by
lobbyist bundlers.

Heather Podesta, a Washington lobbyist,
donated $4,600 to Clinton, FEC records show. She's raised more than
$250,000 for Clinton by tapping her network of contacts and holding
fundraisers.

``Most of my attention is focused on raising money
and new supporters,'' Podesta, sister-in-law to President Bill
Clinton's Chief of Staff John Podesta, said in an interview. ``That's
the best way for me to make a contribution.''

Like Podesta,
former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Steve Ricchetti has also
signed on to be a so-called Hillraiser. Ricchetti's firm was paid $1.7
million during the first six months of 2007 to lobby on behalf of Amgen
Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio, among others.

Won't Be Swayed

New
York Senator Clinton, 60, said during a Jan. 21 debate that she won't
be swayed by her support from lobbyists, saying she has ``withstood the
full force of corporate lobbyists'' during her failed 1993 attempt at
passing universal health care legislation as first lady and during her
Senate career.

``I think I'm independent and tough enough to be able to deal with anybody,'' Clinton said.

McCain,
71, an Arizona Republican who led the successful 2002 effort to ban
corporate and union donations to the political parties, counts as
campaign co-chairman former Representative Tom Loeffler of Texas.
Loeffler now runs his own lobbying firm, which was paid $2.5 million by
such clients as AT&T Inc. and Southwest Airlines.

Last week,
former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, vice chairman of UBS Securities LLC
who is registered to lobby for the bank, campaigned in Georgia for
McCain.

On the campaign trail, McCain stresses his anti-lobbyist bona fides.

`Special Interests'

``I
upset the special interests and Washington lobbyists when I fought for
ethics reform and to stop union bosses and corporations from writing
million-dollar checks to political campaigns,'' he said in New
Hampshire in November.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt
Romney, 60, has contrasted his experience running a business and a
state government with McCain's tenure in Washington, and has vowed to
rein in the influence of lobbyists.

Like former President Ronald
Reagan, ``I'd go to Washington as an outsider -- not owing favors, not
lobbyists on every elbow,'' Romney said at a Jan. 30 debate.

And Romney, too, has registered lobbyists in campaign posts.

Former
U.S. Representative Vin Weber, whose firm was paid $3.6 million by such
clients as EBay Inc. and General Dynamics Corp., is Romney's policy
chairman. Other advisers include Ron Kaufman, chairman of
Washington-based Dutko Worldwide, which was paid $11.2 million by such
companies as Allstate Corp. and Target Corp.

`Extra-Curricular Activities'

``Among my many extra-curricular activities, I love public policy,'' Weber said. ``I try to be helpful to candidates.''

One
campaign co-chairman for Illinois Senator Obama, 46, is former Senate
Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a policy adviser at Alston & Bird LLP.
The firm was paid $4.1 million by companies such as Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Co. and Healthsouth Corp.

Daschle isn't a registered
lobbyist, yet has clout. ``Some of the most powerful people in
Washington's influence industry aren't registered to lobby,'' Krumholz
said.

And while Obama doesn't accept lobbyists' money, he raised
the $86,282 in cash from employees of firms whose business centers on
lobbying.

For the lobbyists, the return comes if their candidate
wins, said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for Washington-based Common Cause,
which supports stronger lobbying laws.

``They certainly would get access and influence if and when he or she become the next president,'' Boyle said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net .