Takes One to Know One

And long-time Quaker Oats lobbyist Tom Roeser, who writes a quite insightful blog, knows that Mayor Richard Daley’s brother Bill was a lobbyist.

Whether he bothered to register as a lobbyist or not, he exerted political influence on behalf of SBC during the first year of Governor Rod Blagojevich’s administration to pass a bill lickity split. And Roeser saw him often in Washington.

Here’s most of his biting commentary:

“In a TV ad, John McCain listed Bill Daley as a lobbyist which has drawn a shout of anger and resentment from Daley since he has never been registered as a lobbyist. The shout he gave off was that of a wounded animal, unjustly shot at, in a forest.

“Dear me, as one who went to Washington weekly as a lobbyist for Quaker Oats for 27 years and would frequently see Bill Daley on the early morning UAL or American Airlines 7:30 a.m. Red Eye, I am utterly aghast that all the while, big firms were sending Bill Daley to D. C. because of his expertise on the technical end of Big Business…and not because his name was Daley, that he was the mayor’s son and mayor’s brother but because he was so expert in business economics. All the time I thought it was because he was an expert at plying his trade with Democratic power brokers who would recall his surname with fondness.

“That is amazing to me and I apologize fully to Mr. Daley since I…with my cynical Chicago upbringing…figured that a top son of the old Mayor might be hired by SBC and the others for his savvy with Democratic pols.

“All the times I saw him chomping steaks with Democratic power lords at Morton’s of Chicago on the edge of Georgetown and tippling drinks at Hill fund-raisers he was sharing his great knowledge of the economy and his scientific expertise with the telecommunications industry without any political connection…and was not seeking favor with the power people which is what a lobbyist is supposed to do.

“How I misjudged Daley all these years!

“Indeed, John McCain should be ashamed of himself for saying that Daley was lobbyist.

“Ergo: Daley was NOT a lobbyist or applied pressure or gratification to lawmakers in return for favors because Daley never registered as a lobbyist!”

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This photo of Tom Roeser was taken at the Union League Club at a February, 2007, meeting with then-presidential hopeful John McCain.


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