Abramoff, Washington Lobbyists and the Business of Government

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The Jack Abramoff scandal has exposed how the growth of lobbying has made Washington a profit center for American corporations. Some $2 billion to $6 billion a year are being spent on influence peddling, which means opportunities for both legal profit-making and widespread corruption. Do ordinary citizens have a chance of being heard by their elected officials? What does it mean for America's role as a model democracy? We speak with lobbyists and others about how the system works, how it's exploded out of control and how public confidence in American democracy might be restored. Making News: President Bush Meets with Former Secretaries of State on IraqIn Iraq, suicide bombings killed at least 100 people today, as President Bush met in the White House with current and former Secretaries of State and Defense. He conceded that some disagreed with his decision to go into Iraq, but expressed appreciation for their advice in helping insure America's success now that we're there. Richard Wolffe is Senior White House Correspondent for Newsweek magazine.Reporter's Notebook: Israeli Politics in Turmoil after Sharon's StrokeIsrael's Ariel Sharon was transferred to intensive care after doctors treated him for a massive stroke. The 77 year-old Prime Minister is not expected to return to power, and Vice Premier Ehud Olmert is the interim leader. Struck down in the midst of leading a new party into the March elections, Sharon's Kadima was given a good chance of prevailing over Likud on the right, Labor on the left and the centrist Shinui. Shmuel Sandler is Associate Professor of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University.
The Jack Abramoff scandal has exposed how the growth of lobbying has made Washington a profit center for American corporations. Some $2 billion to $6 billion a year are being spent on influence peddling, which means opportunities for both legal profit-making and widespread corruption. Do ordinary citizens have a chance of being heard by their elected officials? What does it mean for America's role as a model democracy? We speak with lobbyists and others about how the system works, how it's exploded out of control and how public confidence in American democracy might be restored.
  • Making News: President Bush Meets with Former Secretaries of State on Iraq
    In Iraq, suicide bombings killed at least 100 people today, as President Bush met in the White House with current and former Secretaries of State and Defense. He conceded that some disagreed with his decision to go into Iraq, but expressed appreciation for their advice in helping insure America's success now that we're there. Richard Wolffe is Senior White House Correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Israeli Politics in Turmoil after Sharon's Stroke
    Israel's Ariel Sharon was transferred to intensive care after doctors treated him for a massive stroke. The 77 year-old Prime Minister is not expected to return to power, and Vice Premier Ehud Olmert is the interim leader. Struck down in the midst of leading a new party into the March elections, Sharon's Kadima was given a good chance of prevailing over Likud on the right, Labor on the left and the centrist Shinui. Shmuel Sandler is Associate Professor of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University.

President Bush's remarks after meeting with current and former Secretaries of State and Defense

K Street Project

Birnbaum's article on Abramoff case bringing new scrutiny lobbyists and lobby system

Acting Israeli PM Olmert's remarks on Ariel Sharon at Special cabinet meeting

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Host:

Warren Olney