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Letter to the editor

McCain, aides boosted Airbus deal

He and several senior advisers helped pave the way for the controversial Air Force contract.

By Washington Post
Published March 12, 2008

WASHINGTON - To show that he's a crusader against wasteful spending and congressional corruption, Sen. John McCain repeatedly brags about his leading role in stopping a scandal-plagued air tanker contract between the Air Force and Boeing Co.

But his action four years ago helped clear the way for a $35-billion contract to a foreign-owned company - a deal that was facilitated, in part, by finance chairman Tom Loeffler and several other Washington lobbyists who are senior advisers to McCain's presidential campaign.

The Air Force decision to pick Europe's Airbus to build a new generation of tanker planes has renewed attention to McCain's use of lobbyists in his campaign to become president. The Republican senator's long-standing relationships with lobbyists has emerged as a subject of interest because he campaigns against the corrosive influence of special interests in Washington.

Loeffler and Susan Nelson, who left Loeffler's lobbying firm to be McCain's finance director, both lobbied for the parent company of Airbus, according to Senate records. William Ball, a former secretary of the Navy and a McCain surrogate on the trail, also lobbied for Airbus, as did John Green, who recently took a leave from Ogilvy Public Relations to be McCain's legislative liaison.

"Airbus, I have to give them credit," said R. Thomas Buffenbarger, the president of the International Association of Machinists, which represents Boeing employees. "They know they need that kind of lobbying help. And they went after people who could deliver."

Other lobbyists on McCain's staff include his campaign manager, Rick Davis, and a top political adviser, Charles Black. Neither of them lobbied for Airbus.

It is not clear what the McCain aides did on behalf of Airbus. Lobbying registration documents list only "initiatives and interests regarding the KC-30 Aerial Refueling Tanker Program."

McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said the Arizona senator and his advisers have done nothing improper in the tanker deal. "John McCain was never personally lobbied on this issue," she said.

Nonetheless, the air tanker contract has sparked anger from congressional supporters of Boeing and critics of outsourcing.

Boeing filed a formal protest of the tanker award Tuesday with the Government Accountability Office, citing "irregularities" in the contract competition.

[Last modified March 12, 2008, 01:25:28]