Some lobbyists actually are more equal than others

The press is having some heartburn over Obama's appointment of William Corr as Deputy Secretary of HHS. Corr worked until a few months ago for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, lobbying Congress to get tobacco away from kids. Per the media, that makes him a "lobbyist," and Obama promised not enable the Washington "revolving door" of lobbyists, industry and government.

Yeah. Only problem? A guy who works for a children's group on tobacco issues isn't the kind of lobbyist we're worried about.

John McCain made an early gaffe during the campaign that wasn't totally untrue. He said something about lobbyists being good people. Many of them are. The ACLU? Lobbyists. The Human Rights Campaign? Lobbyists. American Cancer Society? Ditto. When I worked on the Hill, I worked with lobbyists from AOPA, a group that represents small pilots. They didn't have my ear because they bribed me, or had thousands of constituents pester me every day. They had my ear because Alaska is small pilots. AOPA represented my constituents. They were a critical resource in helping me understand how specific legislation and FAA rules would impact small pilots in our state.

There is an inherent difference between letting chemical and commercial industry lobbyists weaken safety standards for arsenic in our drinking water, and putting an expert on the dangers tobacco poses to kids at the Department of Health and Human Services. Perhaps Obama is partly at fault for using overly simplistic terms like "lobbyists," which paint with far too broad a brush. But we do our country no benefit attacking good people like William Corr because we are too interested in following the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit.