CHARLES BLACK News:

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"But as McCain greets two breakfast-eating business partners, one from Stamford [Connecticut] and the other from Bridgeport [Connecticut], the topic turns to the presidential race. The two men tell the senator they support [Republican] President George W. Bush, and to that end, McCain says, "(Osama) Bin Laden may have just given us a little boost. Amazing, huh?".... " ... "The two men, who requested anonymity, nod their heads in agreement. Later, while riding with Shays on an RV to a rally at the Stamford Government Center, McCain further explains, "(The video) is helpful to President Bush because it puts the focus on the war on terrorism.""

John McCain - Randy Scheunemann - Charlie Black - Money - Politics - Foreign - Russia - Macedonia - Republic of Georgia - Zaire is the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Military - Food- Indiana - Arizona - US - 2008 Election - Law - "Senior Aide's Lobbying Efforts Highlight Challenge for McCain." ... "For a decade, [lobbyist] Randy Scheunemann has been a campaign staffer to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, an ideological ally in the fight to contain Russian power -- and a lobbyist seeking the Arizona senator's support for former Soviet states." ... "The lobbying group Mr. Scheunemann founded in 2001, Orion Strategies LLC [Limited Liability Company], has earned $2.6 million from clients for whom Mr. Scheunemann directly lobbied [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain and his staff, Justice Department records show." ... "In March, as scrutiny intensified, Mr. Scheunemann, who is the campaign's top foreign-policy staffer, sent a letter to the Justice Department's office for foreign-client lobbying registrations saying he had stopped working for clients such as Macedonia and [the Republic of] Georgia. However, his company's contracts with those countries, worth a combined $240,000, appear still to be in effect. A spokeswoman for the Georgian Embassy in Washington said the country's contract with Orion is active. The Macedonian contract is listed as active in Justice Department records." ... "Charlie Black, a McCain campaign senior adviser, has represented foreign leaders accused of corruption and human-rights abuses, such as Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire [now the Democratic Republic of the Congo]. He ended his relationship with BKSH & Associates Worldwide this year. Outside advisers and fund-raisers for the campaign include Wayne Berman, a registered lobbyist for an Indiana food-packaging company that sells to the Department of Defense." -By Mary Jacoby -WSJ.com

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John McCain - Charlie Black - Tom Loeffler - Rick Davis - 2008 Election - Politicians - "Top McCain Adviser Defends His Lobbyist Past." ... "[Lobbyist] Charlie Black, a senior adviser to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain who has come under fire in recent days for his lobbying past, today sought to put an end to calls from the left for his resignation." ... "Tom Loeffler, a major fund-raiser for the McCain campaign and former U.S. representative from Texas, left the campaign on Sunday over his active lobbying firm The Loeffler Group." ... "Black said he has no income from either his firm or the campaign but joked about an allowance from his wife, Judy Black, who is a lobbyist." ... "When a reporter asked him if there was a possible conflict of interest with his wife, following reports suggesting she received clients because of Black’s ties to the McCain campaign, Black became agitated." ... "Black also defended [McCain's] campaign manager Rick Davis, who still holds a stake in his [lobbying] firm, Davis Manafort." -By Elizabeth Holmes -WSJ.com

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John McCain - Charlie Black - Money - Philippines - Myanmar - Military - Arizona - US- 2008 Election - "McCain Vets Staff for Lobbying Ties." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is vetting its own staff members’ lobbyist connections—scurrilous or otherwise—after two aides recently left the campaign when questions arose over their prior lobbying work for Myanmar’s military junta." ... "A Democratic outside group, MoveOn.org, is targeting another McCain campaign senior aide in a new Web ad asking their supporters to call for the ousting of longtime Washington insider Charlie Black, who until recently was a lobbyist for BKSH Worldwide." ... "The ad charges that Black’s firm “made millions lobbying for the world’s worst tyrants,” including Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire. “Charlie Black said he didn’t do anything wrong,” the ad states. “John McCain should tell Black he did.” " -By Susan Davis -WSJ.com 

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WATCH MoveOn Charlie Black ad, "McCain: Fire Charlie Black." Ad Text: "John McCain says we're fighting in Iraq to plant "the seeds of democracy but the firm of his "chief political adviser" Charlie Black made millions lobbying for the world's worst tyrants: Ferdinand Marcos, who executed thousands of his own citizens in the Philippines, Zaire's Mobuto, who publicly hanged his opponents and looted his country's vast mineral wealth, and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, a mass murderer, who covered Angola with landmines. Charlie Black said he didn't do anything wrong. John McCain should tell Black he did. Call John McCain and tell him to fire Charlie Black."-Documentation -MoveOn.org

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John McCain - European - Planes - Manufacturing Plant - Jobs - US - Military - Lawmaker- Politics - Arizona - Washington - Kansas - 2008 Election - "McCain's Role in Plane Pact Spotlights Ties to Lobbyists." ... "To show that he's a crusader against wasteful spending and congressional corruption, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain repeatedly brags about his leading role in stopping a scandal-plagued air tanker contract between the Air Force and Boeing in 2004." ... "Four years later, a $35 billion contract has been awarded to Europe's Airbus consortium to build the latest generation of tanker planes. The decision has sparked anger from Boeing's congressional supporters and critics of outsourcing. It has also focused attention on McCain's reliance on lobbyists in his campaign for president because his finance chairman and several other top advisers lobbied for Airbus last year when it was in fierce competition with Boeing for the Air Force contract." ... "McCain has spoken out for years against the influence of special interests in Washington, but his campaign includes a number of prominent Washington lobbyists, including campaign manager Rick Davis, who founded a lobbying firm, and top political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., chief executive of a well-known Washington firm. Neither of them lobbied for Airbus." ... "McCain finance chairman Thomas G. Loeffler and Susan E. Nelson, who left Loeffler's lobbying firm to be McCain's finance director, both began lobbying for Airbus's parent company in 2007, Senate records show. William L. Ball III, a former secretary of the Navy and frequent McCain surrogate on the trail, also lobbied for Airbus, as did John Green, who recently took a leave from Ogilvy Public Relations to serve as McCain's legislative liaison." ... "Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington state, where Boeing has long had a significant presence, have lambasted McCain for laying the groundwork for a decision that will cost their economy thousands of aerospace jobs. Lawmakers in Kansas, where Boeing has a plant, have also been critical." (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear and Matthew Mosk with contributions by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost

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Secretive - John McCain - John Hagee - Pat Robertson - Religious - Politicians - History - Arizona - 2008 Election - "McCain Courts Secret Radical Religious Conservative Group For Support In Presidential Bid." ... "Last month, hard-line conservative Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, announced his support for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ [Republican-Arizona]) candidacy for president. Despite Hagee’s numerous bigoted remarks — including his claim that the Catholic church is “the Great Whore” and a “false cult system” — McCain said that he was “very honored” by the endorsement." ... "McCain is continuing his tradition of courting the bigoted right-wing fringe. This afternoon, McCain addressed the Council for National Policy (CNP) in New Orleans in a “make-or-break pitch” for support from the secretive, ultra-conservative group that describes itself as a “self-selected, conservative counterweight” against “liberal domination of the American agenda.” McCain advisor Charlie Black said McCain “was anxious to appear” in front of the group." ... "CNP was founded in 1981 by [Reverend] Rev. Tim LaHaye, “an early Christian conservative organizer and the best-selling author of the ‘Left Behind’ novels about an apocalyptic Second Coming,” and fellow Christian conservative Paul Weyrich. Like Hagee, the group and its members have at times expressed and encouraged radical and intolerant views:"

"– LeHaye once said that Catholicism is a “false religion” and called popes “antichrists.”" ... "– Weyrich has claimed that CNP is a group of “radicals working to overturn the present power structure in this country.”" ... "– A speaker received a standing ovation at one CNP meeting when he suggested that AIDS was a sign from God that homosexuality was an “abomination.”"

John McCain - Corporate - Politician - Lawmaker -  -  -  -  -  -  - 2008 Election - Ariz - "The Anti-Lobbyist, Advised by Lobbyists." ... "For years, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.[Republican-Arizona]) has railed against lobbyists and the influence of "special interests" in Washington, touting on his campaign Web site his fight against "the 'revolving door' by which lawmakers and other influential officials leave their posts and become lobbyists for the special interests they have aided."" ... "But when McCain huddled with his closest advisers at his rustic Arizona cabin last weekend to map out his presidential campaign, virtually every one was part of the Washington lobbying culture he has long decried. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, co-founded a lobbying firm whose clients have included Verizon and SBC Telecommunications. His chief political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., is chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses, BKSH and Associates, which has represented AT&T, Alcoa, JPMorgan and U.S. Airways." ... "Senior advisers Steve Schmidt and Mark McKinnon work for firms that have lobbied for Land O' Lakes, UST Public Affairs, Dell and Fannie Mae." ... "[Charles] Black's current clients include General Motors, United Technologies, JPMorgan and AT&T." ... "In McCain's case, the fact that lobbyists are essentially running his presidential campaign -- most of them as volunteers -- seems to some people to be at odds with his anti-lobbying rhetoric." ... "McCain's reliance on lobbyists for key jobs -- both in the Senate and in his presidential campaign --extends beyond his inner circle. McCain recently hired Mark Buse to be his Senate chief of staff. Buse led the Commerce Committee staff in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and was until last fall a lobbyist for ML Strategies, representing eBay, Goldman Sachs Group, Cablevision, Tenneco and Novartis Pharmaceuticals." (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum with contributions by Glenn Kessler, Alice Crites and Chris Cillizza -WashingtonPost

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