Ever wondered what it's like to be a lobbyist for Middle Eastern oil despots? No, me either. But the NY Times has a painful insight into the awkward situation today.
The gem:
"Just last year, three of the biggest names in the lobbying club — Tony Podesta, Robert L. Livingston and Toby Moffett — pulled off a coup for one of their clients, Egypt. They met with dozens of lawmakers and helped stall a Senate bill that called on Egypt to curtail human rights abuses. Ultimately, those abuses helped bring the government down."
Right. But wait, it gets better. A window into what the conversations sounded like:
Mr. Moffett, a former congressman from Connecticut, told his old colleagues that the bill “would be viewed as an insult” by an important ally. “We were just saying to them, ‘Don’t do this now to our friends in Egypt,’ ” he recounted.
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