I missed the real bombshell in the Washington Post’s (affair-free) version of the McCain-lobbyist story, but the Obama campaign didn’t.  A number of news outlets are also beginning to pick up on this eyebrow-raising anecdote, which shows– in a different, but equally effective way than the New York Times article– just how deeply connected John McCain is to lobbyists:

Of all the lobbyists involved in the McCain campaign, the most prominent is [chief political advisor Charlie] Black, who has made a lucrative career of shuttling back and forth between presidential politics and big-time Washington lobbying.

…

But even as Black provides a private voice and a public face for McCain, he also leads his lobbying firm, which offers corporate interests and foreign governments the promise of access to the most powerful lawmakers. Some of those companies have interests before the Senate and, in particular, the Commerce Committee, of which McCain is a member.

Black said he does a lot of his work by telephone from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus.

The Associated Press reported Barack Obama’s response to this Saturday:

Obama broadened his criticism to McCain’s ties to lobbyists in general, saying, “He takes their money and has put them in charge of his campaign.”

The Illinois senator returned to the subject later, when he said it was indisputable that McCain’s “got his top advisers in this campaign are lobbyists, that many of them have been running their business on the campaign bus while they’ve been helping him.”

And in case there’s any question as to how effective an attack this will be in the general election, here’s the best response the McCain campaign could manage:

In rebuttal, [McCain spokeswoman Jill] Hazelbaker accused Obama of trying to distract attention from his record and resume. She said he has “no national security experience and plans billions of dollars in tax hikes.”

In other words, “Sure, John McCain’s campaign is run by lobbyists with conflicting interests who actively lobby on his campaign bus, but…….. Quick, look over in that direction!  No, really, I think I heard something!  Look!”