Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Associated Press's Glen Johnson is a terrific political reporter, as everyone in this state presumably knows. He's been on the Mitt Romney trail for a while now (and much missed locally), and has written some pretty tough, negative pieces on the former Massachusetts Gov.

Well, at a press avail today, Romney tried touting that he has no lobbyists "running" his campaign -- part of his newfound anti-Washington populism message. (Try picturing Mitt and the boys with pitchforks at the gate....) And Johnson called him on it, according to this report, pointing out that Ron Kaufman, Washington lobbyist extraordinaire (and RNC committeman from Mass.) is a Romney senior advisor. Romney apparently got a little testy. (CBS News has video.)

The idea that Romney does not have lobbyists helping guide his campaign is a joke. Kaufman, of Dutko, is a senior advisor. So is Barbara Comstock, of Blank Rome. Romney's national policy chairman, Vin Weber, is a federal lobbyist. Doug Gross, Romney's Iowa chariman, is a lobbyist. His New Hampshire director, Jim Merrill, works at a law/lobbying firm. Those are just the ones I know of off the bat.

But what are facts when Romney has a point to make about himself?

Update: Here is Johnson's article coming out of the exchange.