Another DC lobbyist takes key role in the campaign of the alleged anti-lobbyist candidate, John McCain

Kinda hard to be anti-lobbyist when all the top people in positions of power on the campaign are, in fact, lobbyists:

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has engaged a leading GOP lobbyist to coordinate his message and travel schedule with congressional Republicans — the most concrete sign yet that the biggest battleground in the 2008 presidential race may not be Pennsylvania or Ohio or Florida’s I-4 corridor but rather the floor of the United States Senate.

John Green, a founding partner of what is now Ogilvy Government Relations, will soon take a leave of absence from that firm to work as a full-time liaison between McCain’s presidential campaign and Republicans in the House and the Senate, according to GOP aides on Capitol Hill and McCain surrogates downtown. Green, a Mississippi native, has strong ties in the Senate after his years of work for former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), a vocal McCain supporter who left Congress late last year to set up his own lobbying shop.

Green is part of a small cadre of lobbyists who have met regularly to help build support for McCain on Capitol Hill. The group, which includes fellow Ogilvy partner Wayne Berman, has been helping the senator secure congressional endorsements in recent weeks to ensure he solidifies his status as the GOP front-runner.

Just because McCain says he is anti-lobbyist and is going to stamp out corruption and waste doesn't mean it's true. Remember, he's following the Bush playbook. Just say anything. Facts and reality don't matter. Plus, if McCain says the same thing over and over, all his pals in the media will believe him. I mean, his bus is called the "Straight Talk Express."