Media Hangover

"Los Angeles Times: 'But a crucial question remains: whether either party's plans would alter the close relationship between the capital's lobbyists and lawmakers.'

"Not every newspaper played it this way, but enough did to convince me that the Dem plan was simply too mushy to make much of an impact, even if the presentation and delivery were better than usual for these kinds of things.

"That's too bad. As the latest Hotline poll shows, public awareness of Jack Abramoff is rising (nearly half have heard of him), as is awareness that he's a Republican operative. What's more, although independent voters mostly think corruption is a problem for both parties, a significant number don't -- and of those, nearly all associate it more with Republicans than Democrats.

"So there's a real opportunity here. A more dramatic proposal on Wednesday could have done a better job of taking advantage of that."

Guess who else is lobbying, and without black hats? The L.A. Times clues us in:

"In four decades as a guitarist with such iconic rock bands as the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, David Crosby played in front of millions of fans at such venues as Woodstock, the Fillmore East, the Hollywood Bowl and London's Wembley Stadium.

"Lately, one of his regular gigs has been at one of the nation's most elite clubs: the U.S. Senate.

"Last year, the shaggy-haired, 64-year-old musician donned a suit in lieu of his usual bluejeans to lobby the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, seeking to thwart plans to expand Chumash casinos and commercial developments near his home in the tranquil Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County. On another occasion, Crosby opined to lawmakers on campaign finance reform.

" 'Being a celebrity cuts both ways in Washington,' Crosby said. 'In some ways it gets you access. But in other ways it makes people dismiss you. You have to be insanely careful about what you say.'

"Crosby is part of a growing parade of celebrities trekking up Capitol Hill to talk to the nation's lawmakers about issues that rarely have anything to do with their day jobs. Trying to get attention for pet causes easily lost in the clutter of public policy debates, stars hope their cachet can make the difference in opening doors, getting media attention and scoring face time on C-SPAN."

Other names in the piece: Salma Hayek, Mary Tyler Moore, Bono and Michael J. Fox.

In the Weekly Standard, Duncan Currie looks at the House leadership race (don't fall asleep, please) between Roy Blunt, John Boehner and John Shadegg: