Tough tanker decision looms for Bush administration

How can McCain claim impartiality when he repeatedly tipped
the scale in favor of a company that employed his
lobbyist-friends?

 - As he defends himself against charges that he helped steer
an Air Force contract toward a European company that many of
his top aides were lobbyists for, McCain has portrayed himself
as an impartial watchdog who fought for "a full, fair and
open competition." But the record shows McCain repeatedly
intervened on behalf of European Aeronautic Defence and Space
Co. In the period during which EADS and Boeing were competing
for the deal, McCain repeatedly echoed EADS's criticisms of
the process used to award the contract, including writing
letters to the Pentagon. He also threatened to hold hearings
and requested an audit of Air Force proposal requirements. In
return, McCain received at least $12,000 from top executives
last year "even as his presidential campaign was
foundering" and received more contributions from company
employees and the company's PAC than any other individual this
election cycle. [New York Times, 3/12/08; AP, 3/11/08; Inside
the Air force, 2/2/07; Aviation Weekly, 10/2/06; New York
Times, 12/26/06; The Hill, 3/7/08, Seattle Post Intelligencer,
3/7/2008; Washington Post, 3/12/08]

http://www.democrats.org/a/2008/03/mccain_myth_bus_18.php

********

Did John McCain's staff help the French win $100 billion Air
Force contract?
Posted Mar 12th 2008 12:22PM by Peter Cohan
Filed under: Boeing Co (BA), Northrop Grumman (NOC)

The Associated Press reports that John "Freedom
Fries" McCain employs former lobbyists for EADS, the
parent of Toulouse, France-based Airbus, on his staff. EADS
and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) recently won a $100 billion
contract to build refueling tankers for the Air Force, edging
out Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) which has filed a protest.

McCain now employs the people who lobbied for EADS on his own
staff. According to the AP report, EADS retained The Loeffler
Group to lobby for the tanker deal in 2007. Loeffler Group
lobbyists on the project included Tom Loeffler, who lobbies
for EADS and serves as McCain's national finance chairman;
Susan Nelson, who left Loeffler and is now the campaign's
finance director; and former Secretary of the Navy William
Ball III, who has campaigned for McCain

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/12/john-mccains-finance-staff-helps-french-win-100-billion-air-fo/