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Obama's Campaign Manager Denies Being a Lobbyist

Posted May 27, 08 11:47 AM CDT in Politics 

(Newser) – As John McCain struggles to purge his campaign staff of lobbyists, Barack Obama’s campaign manager is denying he fits the bill, too. "I've never lobbied anybody in my life," says David Axelrod, who is the senior partner at a consulting firm that has done what Newsweek calls "creative lobbying," in the form of ad campaigns for companies seeking to influence legislative decisions.

One was an Illinois utility pushing for a rate hike; another was the owner of Madison Square Garden, fighting to keep a competitive sports stadium out of New York City. In the former case, Illinois disclosure laws didn’t require registering as a lobbyist, but Cablevision's effort against the New York Jets stadium was deemed the “largest lobbying contract” that year in the state.

Source Newsweek

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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to photographers as he talks with Senior Campaign Advisor David Axelrod, left.   (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Advisers to Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., David Axelrod, left, and Robert Gibbs.   (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, talks with staff as Senior Advisor David Axelrod rests his head on the overhead compartment.   (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
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