There are probably some decent, ethical lobbyists in Washington, D.C.  However, givern the current landscape, one would have to dig to find them.  Put another way, the unethical sleazebags seem to outnumber the ethical practitioners.

Both campaigns have been relatively quiet about the government bailout of the mortgage lenders and Wall Street financial insitutions that were greedy, willing perpetrators of this financial catastrophe, while regular Americans scammed by these perps and losing their homes get short shrift and are basically on their own.  The current bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been met with apparent radio silence from each camp.

Perhaps it is because there are ties to mortgage lending corporations' lobbyists....the revolving politicial-government-financial triplex of possible conflit of interest relationships that are an inside Washington, inside the campaigns common characteristic...unfortunately.

The Washington Post reports: "Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, was president of the Homeownership Alliance, which advocates the expansion of homeownership through low-interest mortgages funded by Fannie and Freddie. Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., who is heading McCain's vice presidential vetting panel, was a lobbyist for Fannie Mae. Mark Buse, a longtime McCain aide, lobbied for Freddie Mac before returning to McCain's Senate staff.

"And the list of Republican Fannie and Freddie lobbyists includes some of its most notable rogues -- including Tony Rudy, Edwin Buckham, Kevin Ring and David H. Safavian, all of whom were linked to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal -- as well as some of its leading power brokers, from Reagan White House chief of staff Kenneth M. Duberstein to uberlobbyists Vin Weber and Tom Korologos. Alberto R. Cardenas, one of McCain's top fundraisers, has lobbied for Fannie Mae, as have former Montana governor Marc Racicot and tax-cut advocate Grover Norquist.

"Obama also has ties to the firms. James A. Johnson, the former head of his vice presidential vetting panel, was a chief executive of Fannie Mae, as was Franklin D. Raines, who said this week that he has been consulting with the campaign on housing issues. Maria Echaveste, a top Clinton White House official whose husband, Christopher Edley Jr., is a close Obama friend and adviser, has lobbied for Freddie Mac, and former commerce secretary William M. Daley, a top Obama backer, was an in-house lobbyist.

"Other Democratic luminaries who have advocated for the mortgage giants include strategist Steven Elmendorf, Rep. Doris Matsui (Calif.), former Al Gore aide Ronald A. Klain, former Clinton aide Steve Ricchetti and former congressman Harold E. Ford Jr. (Tenn.), now the head of the Democratic Leadership Council. Jamie Gorelick, a deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, was also vice chairman of Fannie Mae.

"That payroll has cost Fannie and Freddie nearly $200 million in lobbying and campaign contributions over the past decade, according to lobbying reports and Federal Election Commissiondisclosures. It has also won them plenty of protection from calls for greater regulation, less federal protection, and even nationalization.

"The McCain campaign has been reticent about backing anything that smacks of partial nationalization. Last week, the senator from Arizona issued what amounted to full-throated support of the Bush administration's efforts to keep the companies afloat.

" 'Those institutions, Fannie and Freddie, have been responsible for millions of Americans to be able to own their own homes, and they will not fail, we will not allow them to fail, 'he said. 'They are vital to Americans' ability to own their own homes. And we will do what's necessary to make sure that they continue that function.'

"Obama has been slightly more skeptical, at least in tone. His initial statement put the issue of homeownership first. The senator from Illinois 'has long believed we should take all necessary steps to ensure affordable homeownership for millions of American families, and that includes an essential role for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,' spokesman Bill Burton said last week.

"Then on Tuesday, Obama sounded a note of skepticism: 'I think it is important, with respect to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, that we ensure there's continued liquidity in the housing market, but that we're not devoting huge sums of money to bailing out shareholders or CEOs. I mean, I think that there's got to be some recognition that you can't have those institutions with all upside but no downside,'  he said on PBS's "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer."

"That is still a far cry from prescriptions coming from the campaigns' left and right flanks, from firing the firms' managers before offering any loans, to nationalizing them to breaking them up. But analysts in Washington say those next steps will have to wait." 

There seems to be a strong lobbyist stench emanating from the campaigns and assailing the voters' nostrils.