Why this Washington superlobbyist represents all that is wrong with politics today

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Guys, we need to talk about Lanny Davis. Let me update you on what you've missed:

First, Lanny Davis spent the last decade or so selling influence in Washington, using various platforms -- often without disclosing his financial interest -- to take up the causes of for-profit colleges, chemical companies, and even violent dictators and a military junta.

And then the other day, I made a joke at his expense.

There is too much wrong with Washington to say "So and so represents everything that's wrong with Washington." But it's Lanny Davis.

Why did I make this joke, on Twitter no less? That's a terrific question. Thanks for asking. I read a column Davis wrote. This was an op-ed that bravely flew directly into the eye of the media firestorm surrounding Cory Booker's comments on a weekly cable access show called Meet the Press. So much hadn't been said on this matter already. I was eager to hear his thoughts. It turns out, surprise: Both sides are to blame. A pox on both their houses, you know? We just need to "get back to the issues."

Get back to the issues. That's what got my Irish up. And not just because I disagreed with Davis's criticism of the Obama campaign and the equivalence he was drawing between right and left -- that's like his favorite recipe. And it wasn't because a column that says "let's get back to the issues" is about as banal and sanctimonious and self-righteously oblivious as a person can get. It was because a lecture from Lanny Davis on respectability was more than my tiny heart could bear.