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(Lobbies - like Baseball and Character Assassination, an American institution)

Lobbies have been part of our political landscape forever it seems. The cartoon above is from 1892, to give you an idea.

In 1949 it became the topic of much discussion and hand wringing. But as history proved in a Shakespearean way, it was Sound and Fury, signifying nothing.

The radio series American Forum of The Air ran a panel discussion on the problem. And on November 27, 1949 invited Herbert Q. Nelson from the National Real Estate Board, Joseph D.Keenan from the AF of L (pre-CIO) and Col. Robert S. Allen, a beltway columnist to discuss the situation and what could, if anything, be done about it.

Clearly, if they had any great ideas, nobody listened - or if they did they've been long forgotten.

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(Deja-vu all over again)

An interesting panel discussion between Senators Estes Kefauver (D-Tennessee), Margaret Chase Smith (R-Main), Blair Moody (D-Michigan) and Harry P. Cain (R-Washington) on the subject "How Can We Get Integrity In Government?" in 1952. I'm struck by the civility of everyone for about the first half before it goes slightly south.

Funny, in almost 60 years the argument is the same, so is the hand-wringing and finger pointing. The other side is always the culprit and everything would be solved if there was a new party running things.

Sadly, no.

I hate to sound cynical, but in 60 years the corruption and lobbying has only gotten worse. Certainly the hypocrisy has.

But I just have the feeling our "trusted public servants" in 1952 weren't going MIA for jaunts to Buenos Aires - or maybe they were and they were more discreet.

At least this bunch doing the panel in 1952 pretended to be.

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In an impassioned press conference today, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger upped the ante in the auto bailout fight as he urged the White House and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to help prevent the "imminent collapse" of the auto industry by using TARP funds.

He spelled out a last-minute negotiating process in which he says the Senate GOP caucus blew up a compromise agreement hammered out by the White House and Sen. Bob Corker.

The UAW chief said they knew going in that negotiating with an individual senator was a difficult challenge - that Corker "really didn't have a knowledge of the industry."

"And then the other thing was, quite frankly, we wondered if we were just being set up," he told reporters. (Looks like there's something to that theory: Corker is now blaming the UAW, claiming the union refused to strike a deal because the White House made it clear they'd get the money, anyway.)

Who to believe? Hmm.

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You know, it's getting hard to read between the lines these days. This NY Times story about FDIC chair Sheila Bair, the only Bush official who's been looking out for homeowners facing foreclosure, has all the signs of a classic hit job: Unnamed sources (even "a representive of IndyMac" who remains unknown) expressing deep concern that Bair is a hot dog whose so-called policies don't work.

The only question remains is, who's trashing her - and why?

I read recently that the Obama team wants to dump her (more unnamed sources, of course). So is Bair as good as I've heard, and is being targeted for ruffling the Good Old Boys' feathers, or is she a self-promoting hot dog? You'd never know from reading this story. It's a masterwork of insinuation.

Boy, I wish there was a real newspaper I could read that could make that distinction, draw a credible conclusion and bolster it with facts people would back - on the record.

Hey, New York Times, here's a thought: instead of asking unnamed sources for quotes on her policies, why not do your homework?

Yes, according to the Republican that Sarah Palin beat to become mayor of Wasilla.

[Former mayor] John Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

This comes from a TIME article filed from Wasilla, where journalists are busy doing the vetting that McCain left to a secretive ultra-right group, the Council for National Policy.

The TIME article goes on to describe how Palin back-stabbed early supporters and put gag-orders on her department staff, telling them they couldn't speak to reporters without her permission. It also outlines how she's changed what is important to her in successive elections, always taking a position she believes will win her votes rather than taking a principled stand.

But have you noticed, as one of my C&L colleagues pointed out to me, how Palin uses that "not giving full support" phrase as the reason for attempting to have those who disagree with her fired? It's implicit in her defense on Troopergate and seems to have played a part in her firing of her original police chief in Wasilla too. He, on the other hand, alleged big-politics interests behind her move.

[Irl] Stambaugh, the police chief and a member of Palin's step-aerobics class, filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination, alleging that Palin terminated him in part at the behest of the National Rifle Association, because he had opposed a concealed-gun law that the NRA supported. He eventually lost the suit. The animosity spawned some talk of a recall attempt, but eventually Palin's opponents in the city council opted for a more conciliatory route.

So this is the true Sarah Palin. Not only a devoted and principled believer in ultra-right causes and authoritarian control but also a cynical and manipulative politician willing to use underhanded methods and authoritarian edicts to get her way. (Yes, I know - in other words, a Republican.)

As my C&L colleague also says: "This woman is quickly moving from unqualified to downright scary."