Da Mayor's Lobbyist-Free Zone

clipped from www.realclearpolitics.com The New York Times had an amazing front page story yesterday which I would have thought would have jumped to the top of every cable news cycle except for the Senate's confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The headline of the story was: "White House Affirms Deal on Drug Cost" by David Kirkpatrick. I want you to read the lead paragraph very slowly:   Pressed by industry lobbyists, White House officials on Wednesday assured drug makers that the administration stood by a behind-the-scenes deal to block any Congressional effort to extract cost savings from them beyond an agreed-upon $80 billion.   Whoa! Check Please! How can the words "industry lobbyists" and "White House" be in the same sentence? We have been told - to the point of needing Compazine (an anti-nausea drug) - that this administration was, is, and will always be a lobbyist-free zone. In strange world in which Obamaville is located, lobbyists are bad only if and until the White House needs them It works like ... Chicago!