See, I Knew it Wasn't Unusual . . .

Another GOP contender (this one has even officially declared) as Washington lobbyist. Will Rudy distance himself from Bracewell & Giuliani? Money quote: "Giuliani isn't personally registered as a lobbyist for any of the interests on whose behalf his firms have acted, and he has so far declined to otherwise describe his work for them." (Emphasis mine.)

The AP article also helps explain why and where conflicts of interest might emerge, and how the Executive Branch is viewed in regard to lobbying procedures, such as

Traditional procedures for government officials to prevent ethical conflicts — expressly avoiding issues directly involving their former employer — would be unavailable for a commander in chief. It is unheard of for a president, when taking office, to promise to avoid a particular policy issue.

I also like this quote: "Federal conflicts-of-interest rules do not apply to the president or vice president, because they are not technically considered U.S. government employees." (Emphasis mine.) The article goes on to enummerate Giuliani's corporate history in more light than I think we've had a careful look at up to this point. It's worth a read.

Fred Thompson: Actor, Senator . . . Lobbyist?

David Sirota fills in the picture for us from these nuggets along the way (I'm a little late in getting to read them). Looks like Fred Thompson has distinguished himself over 18 years of service in the lobbying the field, including as recently as 2002.

It's not unusual for former senators to register as lobbyists. It's probably not all that unusual for former lobbyists to campaign for President (of course no one says he's campaigning . . . yet). I'm not even saying there's anything wrong with this. But if there's one thing we've learned from the corruption and cronyism of the last congress, it's that everything is worth investigating.