Lobbying Problems Force McCain to Put Straight Talk on Hold

In light of the continued pressure John McCain is facing to rid his staff of lobbyists and former lobbyists, the normally gregarious candidate is experiencing a fresh conversion to message discipline. From a press conference he held with reporters yesterday:

Question: What was the impetus for the new lobbying policy?

McCain: "We have enacted the most comprehensive and most transparent policy concerning lobbyist activities and I challenge Senator Obama to adopt a similar policy."

Question: Is this an inside-the-beltway issue? Do the American people care?

McCain: "It's not so much that as we wanted to make sure there was an effective and comprehensive and transparent policy towards lobbyist, the most comprehensive and transparent of any presidential campaign in history, and I challenge Senator Obama to adopt the same policy."

Question: Why did this policy take so long and are you confident we will see no more departures from your campaign?

McCain: "We have enacted the most comprehensive and transparent policy of any presidential campaign in history and I challenge Senator Obama to adopt the same policy."

Fox News reports that McCain described his new lobbyist policy as "comprehensive" seven times over the course of the press conference. He called it "transparent" five times and challenged Obama to adopt the same policy three times.