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Special SeriesIssues & the Presidential CandidatesThis is the sixth in a 10-part series examining the differences between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain on major issues in the presidential race.

• Graphic: Where They Stand
• Read the Entire Series

As a partner at top law and lobbying firm Patton Boggs, Nicholas Allard is a consummate inside-the-Beltway player. He earns his living by working the political system on behalf of clients. And Allard is an ardent defender of his profession even as it is increasingly demonized on the presidential campaign trail.

"Government is extraordinarily complex, and people need advocates in Washington," Allard says. "Someone who says that lobbyists drown out the voice of the people is fundamentally wrong."

What isn't so obvious is that Allard understands the denunciations of lobbying and lobbyists coming from Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. As an insider, Allard knows full well that industries with money and market power have a distinct advantage when it comes to stopping things they don't like from happening in Congress.

"I think it is easier to block something than to get something done," he says. "I understand and [can] appreciate the vein [that Obama and McCain] are striking and what they are responding to. It sounds banal, but they are fed up with corruption and people who lobby the wrong way, and it's legitimate."

Allard believes that the presumptive White House nominees are trying to address this question: "How do you assure [the public] that moneyed interests don't have an advantage in blocking change?"

McCain and Obama both have records of tackling that question. McCain was famously the co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly called McCain-Feingold, which banned unregulated soft money from federal electoral campaigns. He was also a leader in the congressional investigation that uncovered wrongdoing by now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

ETHICS AND LOBBYINGMcCain on Ethics and LobbyingSpecific Policy Positions
Transparency
Proposes to shine a light on those who abuse public funds, and would call on Congress and federal agencies to investigate and ferret out waste and fraud in government. Although not specific on details, he advocates more disclosure by lobbyists.
Earmarks
Says that earmarking of pork-barrel projects has soared in recent years in such areas as defense and transportation, and pledges to veto all bills with earmarks. Famously opposed the "Bridge to Nowhere," a pet project of two powerful Alaska Republicans, Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, that carried a price tag of $223 million but was abandoned last [more...]

Obama was a co-author of the 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, a sweeping reform of lobbying rules that banned lobbyists from buying meals and trips for, and giving gifts to, members of Congress and their aides. The act also tightened rules on the disclosure of lobbying activities. Obama's campaign will not take contributions from lobbyists and political action committees; the Democratic National Committee recently followed suit.

Both Obama and McCain have pledged that as president they would make lobbying more transparent, reform the campaign finance system, and close the revolving door between government and the private sector.

At the same time, both candidates have shifted their positions on campaign finance reform and have failed to satisfy critics with regard to their relationships with lobbyists.

"Both are a bit hypocritical about changing Washington, by their statements about how bad lobbyists are," says James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. But Thurber, who has worked with McCain and Obama on ethics and campaign finance reform legislation, contends that "both have strong records" on those issues.

Ethics and lobbying became top-tier issues on the stump in 2007 when Obama and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, then a contender for the presidential nomination, pledged that they would not accept donations from lobbyists and PACs. The Democratic front-runner at the time, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, made no such pledge. Democratic lobbyists grumbled that Obama's and Edward's refusal to take their money called the legitimacy of the lobbying profession into question. Lobbyists point out that their work is protected under the First Amendment's guarantee of "the right of the people ... to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Money Chase

Obama explained his position in a June 2007 speech: "I've tried to lead by example, by not taking lobbyist or PAC money. Every American, rich or poor, has the right to lobby their government, and that is perfectly fine, but it's time that the president tells the drug companies and the oil companies that they get a seat at the table but they don't get to buy every seat--not anymore."

McCain accepts donations from lobbyists and PACs, but his campaign touts his reputation for making independent decisions that are not colored by his meetings with lobbyists or by the money they contribute. In addition, the McCain team has instituted a strict conflict-of-interest policy that requires all paid campaign staff to terminate their lobbying clients and to drop their registration as lobbyists. Part-time campaign volunteers who are lobbyists must disclose their status and their client lists, and they are prohibited from working in policy areas on which they are registered to lobby. Five lobbyists have left McCain's campaign. McCain's chief campaign strategist is Charles Black, the retired head of prominent Washington lobbying firm BKSH & Associates.

ETHICS AND LOBBYINGObama on Ethics and LobbyingSpecific Policy Positions
Transparency
Calls for the creation of a searchable and downloadable government database on the Web with complete lobbying reports, background information on lobbyists, and campaign finance filings. Would require Cabinet secretaries, agency heads, and other senior officials to provide videos, transcripts, and other information to the public about their decisions.
Earmarks
His Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act would disclose the name of the legislator seeking each earmark and the written justification for the spending. Before signing non-emergency bills as president, he would give the public an opportunity to comment on the White House website.
Revolving door
Would prohibit political appointees who leave [more...]

In polls, voters overwhelmingly applaud the position of Obama and other candidates who spurn campaign donations from Washington lobbyists. By refusing lobbyist and PAC contributions, Obama has been able to project an image of running a campaign fueled by small donors and average citizens. As of May 31, Obama had raised $295.5 million in primary and general election receipts, with 49 percent of that money coming in amounts of $200 or less, according to a Campaign Finance Institute analysis of election data. McCain had raised $121.9 million by the end of May, 24 percent of that total in amounts of $200 or less.

"Just a tiny fraction" of McCain's donations have been from lobbyists, a campaign spokesman said, adding, "McCain's acceptance of contributions from lobbyists does not mean he agrees with their positions."

Obama, to be sure, isn't squeaky clean when it comes to K Street. His ongoing connections to lobbyists could dilute his argument that he is tougher on lobbying than McCain. Dozens of federally registered lobbyists act as informal policy advisers to the Obama campaign, and lobbyists may volunteer for the campaign as long as they take time off from their paying jobs to do so; they don't have to terminate their lobbying work.

The Democratic contender also accepts donations from bundlers who are former lobbyists and from corporate executives, such as UBS Americas CEO Robert Wolf, whose interests are represented in Washington. Meanwhile, Obama accepts money from state lobbyists, from family members of federally registered lobbyists, and from corporate employees.

Obama defends his decision not to completely sever his fundraising efforts from lobbyists and corporate interests by saying that while the donation ban "is an imperfect solution," it is "a step forward" in reducing the influence of special interests. An Obama aide explained that the difference between a donation from a registered lobbyist and one from a corporate executive is that a lobbyist's earnings depend on persuading a lawmaker or policy maker to favor his or her viewpoint, while a corporate executive is not likely to be out of a job if a lawmaker doesn't embrace the company's issues.

The campaign focus on lobbying has led some Washington insiders to wonder if lobbyists will be banned from the White House in 2009. Neither candidate, however, has proposed banning lobbyists from his presidential staff or from his administration.

As president, Obama has said, he would be open to hiring former lobbyists, but he would bar them for a two-year period from working on policy areas on which they lobbied. He would prohibit departing staffers from lobbying his administration. McCain would not restrict the policy issues that a former lobbyist may work on within his administration, but he would bar lobbying by former staffers who move to the private sector.

"They're both raising questions about the revolving door, and that is important," says Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, which has worked with both candidates on ethics and lobbying issues.

More broadly, however, critics say that the candidates' focus on lobbying and lobbyists misses the real problem with the current political system: the insatiable need to raise money to pay for campaigns. An obvious worry is that the spiraling money chase leaves politicians beholden to individuals and PACs that can raise money to help them stay in office. Both candidates have sponsored legislation to limit money in the campaign finance system and to shine a brighter light on where the money comes from.

The most sweeping campaign finance reform in decades is the legislation that bears McCain's name. The law hasn't worked exactly as its sponsors had hoped, but McCain is broadly known for the reform effort, especially in the face of strong opposition from Republican leaders on the Hill, that cemented his reputation as a maverick.

"He deserves credit for the policy and the politics of working that through," says David Donnelly, national campaign director for the Public Campaign Action Fund, a nonprofit that backs public funding for elections at all levels.

McCain disappointed campaign finance reformers when he declared last year that federal money is not the answer to the campaign finance mess, and refused to sign on to a Senate bill that would update the presidential public funding system. Yet McCain, who trails Obama in fundraising, is opting to take public funds for the general election. According to a campaign spokesman, the Arizonan doesn't think that the system is broken but believes, "we should evaluate the general election funding system after this election to determine what can be done to improve it."

Obama pledged in 2007 to aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican presidential nominee to take public financing for the general election, but he dashed hopes within the reform community when he changed that position at the end of June and announced that he would forgo public money in favor of private donations. He is the first presumptive presidential nominee to opt out of the public financing system since it was created in the 1970s. Obama's turnaround outraged many of his allies in the government-watchdog community.

"It was a huge disappointment and calls into question his credibility" on campaign finance, says Charles Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic Development, a business group that has been working on ways to improve ethics in Washington.

In an op-ed in USA Today, Obama wrote that he is still committed to a public financing system and, as president, would push to make it viable once again. He co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., that would bolster the size and scope of public financing for presidential candidates and signed on to another bill that would provide public financing for congressional races.

Reformers, despite their deep disappointment with the candidates' actions, are confident that either McCain or Obama would make ethics a priority in his administration.

"I actually believe that, given that both Obama and McCain are campaigning on cleaning up" Washington, says Bass of OMB Watch. "That if they make a commitment, they wouldn't back off, because if they did, it would be like the 'Read my lips--no new taxes' moment, " when President George H.W. Bush pledged not to raise taxes. He later did, seriously damaging his chances for re-election.