Behind rebel tale is storied insider

[babsbunny]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-black_webaug07,0,5200655.story

Lobbyist Charles Black's profile has been raised with his connection to the McCain campaign

By Andrew Zajac | Washington Bureau
12:12 AM CDT, September 21, 2008


WASHINGTON - In selecting little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has underscored his determination to run as a reformer intent on ending the cozy deal-making of big-money special interests in Washington.

But an architect of that very strategy is Charles Black Jr., a legendary lobbyist and consultant who has deftly used his connections with business leaders and politicians to influence policy and, in the process, make a good deal of money.

Black, a senior adviser to the McCain campaign, has represented at least 120 clients from more than two dozen countries within the past decade. He has used his clout to help kill tax reforms that could have hurt foreign clients, and he once even pressed a judge to go easy an associate convicted of fraud.