Recently in Lobbying Category

Whoever first said, "Things are not always as they appear" had to live and work in Washington, the land of hidden motive, front groups and battles that are often more about power, money and grudges than policy. C/Net columnist Declan McCullough does a masterful job of describing how interest groups, lobbyists, PR firms and other Washington denizens go about attacking enemies and supporting causes -- often with phony coalitions and "astroturf" campaigns. And it all started when McCullough wondered why a group representing corn growers would demand congressional hearings into the recent Google-Yahoo advertising deal.

Those loud noises you're hearing from Washington? They're often the sound of politicians and consultants swooshing through the revolving door between the public and private sectors -- or the occasional splat they make when a conflict of interest is so particularly grotesque that it trips them up. Pollster Mark Penn, forced to quit Hillary Clinton's campaign after meeting with a client whose position on a political issue was diametrically opposed to hers, is just the most recent example.