As Democrats intensify their criticism of John McCain's reliance on lobbyists, McCain is suddenly dumping lobbyists from his campaign. Or is he? According to the Pentagon Post,

One staffer, Craig Shirley, was dismissed after the Politico reported that he worked for the attack site StopHerNow.com. Another, Eric Burgeson, left Thursday after it was disclosed that he lobbies the federal government on energy policy.

McCain's campaign created the policy following two other forced departures -- regional campaign manager Doug Davenport and Republican convention chief Doug Goodyear -- for representing the military government in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

But these four are just the tip of the iceberg, because the McCampaign is full of lobbyists, starting at the very top - campaign manager Rick Davis and top advisor Charlie Black.

So how does McStraightTalk justify keeping Davis and Black?

"Charlie Black and Rick Davis are not in the lobbying business; they've been out of that business."

Oh really? Then why was Charlie Black conducting his lobbying business on board the Straight Talk Express??

Black said he does a lot of his work by telephone from McCain's Straight Talk Express bus.

McCain is trying to argue that a lobbyist is only a lobbyist if (s)he is getting paid today as a lobbyist, and the inconvenient fact that someone was a lobbyist yesterday or will be a lobbyist again tomorrow doesn't count.

In other words, for McDoubleTalk, it all depends on the meaning of "lobbyist."

Marcy Wheeler sums it up:

The McCain campaign employed a number of people who were actively lobbying the Senate on subjects central to McCain's interests. That's not a perception problem, it's a real ethical problem, a stench the campaign can't cleanse simply by considering it a "perception problem." McCain's campaign and McCain's policies have been bought and sold by lobbyists, something that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.