A John McCain-Barack Obama matchup will pit a pair of self-styled reformers in the race for president this fall, which explains why they are spending so much of the early rounds trying to outmuscle each other to prove who is tougher on this political season's whipping boy, the Washington lobbyist.

But lobbyists and many independent analysts view the candidates' antilobbyist rhetoric as grandstanding to score political points at the expense of the vast, multibillion-dollar advocacy industry that is sometimes called the fourth branch of the United States government.

"It's overly simplistic and more demagogic than analytic to say that the solution to all the problems in Washington is to get rid of the lobbyists," said Nicholas W. Allard, a partner, lobbyist, and cochairman of the public policy department at Patton Boggs, a Washington law firm and lobbying powerhouse. "Lobbyists are not the source of congressional gridlock, the source of bitter partisanship, or the reason candidates have to spend so much time raising money."

There are 41,386 lobbyists registered in the nation's capital, according to the Senate Office of Public Records. Most toil in obscurity, but the best known to the general public is also the most notorious, Jack Abramoff, who was sentenced to prison two years ago as the ringleader of a lobbying scandal that ensnared a dozen others.

Allard said lobbyists provide valuable information to government policy makers, but that even with stricter rules enacted last year to curb abuses, "there is no safeguard against someone who will intentionally violate the law or break a rule."

McCain's work as a Senate committee chairman exposed many of Abramoff's misdeeds, but lately the Republican from Arizona has been deflecting news stories about dozens of lobbyists working for his campaign, including his campaign manager and chief adviser, both of whom no longer represent clients. Several others, including one of his chief fund-raisers were forced to cut ties because they had conflicts or represented controversial clients.

Two weeks ago, the campaign instituted a new ethics and disclosure policy, which McCain called "the most comprehensive and most transparent policy concerning lobbyist activities." He challenged Obama, his likely Democratic opponent, to follow suit.

Obama, who has declined contributions from lobbyists and appears to have far fewer ties to them, has been sniping at McCain's lobbyist connections. The Republican National Committee has been pushing back on McCain's behalf, pointing out that several former lobbyists hold key posts on Obama's campaign staff and more than a dozen active lobbyists are volunteers or advisers.

Independent Washington analysts scoff at what they see as exploiting an easy target.

"This is playing to the Hollywood image of lobbyists, guys in $1,000 alligator shoes and $2,000 suits who hang out in the hallway of the Ways and Means Committee and get tax concessions for fat cats," said Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University who does scholarly research by "embedding" himself in congressional offices. "It's a cheap shot. . . . For every Jack Abramoff there are a lot of people lobbying for causes that are quite respectable and noble."