MccClatchy Newspapers’ Greg Gordon filed an interesting report yesterday that appears to debunk John McCain’s claim that, after the embarrassment of the Keating Five scandal, he never again pressured regulators on behalf of a friend. In fact, the story says McCain “promoted an Arizona land swap that would’ve benefited a former mentor and partner of the scandal’s central figure.”

The story details McCain’s efforts in the late 1990s to forge a land swap with the U.S. Forest Service that would have benefited the owners of the Spur Cross Ranch, which included a company controlled by former Charles Keating associate Carl Lindner Jr.

Gordon notes that, before the deal fell through, “McCain and an aide pushed for the exchange in more than a half dozen sometimes-testy letters and phone calls up and down the Forest Service’s hierarchy, according to former agency officials and correspondence. McCain’s office even circulated draft legislation that would have overridden the agency’s objection to surrendering national forest land.”

The New York Times’ Larry Rohter reports on a notable absence from McCain’s “economic roundtable” on Monday: lobbyist and former Sen. Phil Gramm. Gramm, along with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, has been “shunted off to Siberia, not because of policy disagreements but as the result of gaffes that reflected badly on the Republican candidate.” In Gramm’s case, of course, the gaffe was the infamous “nation of whiners” comment.

As has been noted, the Republican National Committee’s fundraising and spending is what’s really keeping McCain in the race at this point. Those of you interested in the nitty-gritty of how the RNC (and its Democratic counterpart) have been spending and raising money lately will appreciate this report from CQ Politics’ Greg Giroux.

National Journal has a new blog, “Under the Influence,” that focuses on the “lobbying and advocacy industry.” One of its first posts, by Alexis Simendinger, examines how lobbyists feel about being a punching bag in this year’s race. The lobbyists in this story call the focus on their profession “silly and arbitrary” and “at its core…political.” The new blog also offers up a PDF of how an Obama administration plans to deal with lobbyists.

Speaking of Obama, USA Today’s Ken Dilanian notes that business executives are warming up to the Democratic nominee. The story reports that among Obama’s donors, “5,845 list “CEO” or “chief executive” in their title, compared with 2,597 of McCain’s donors.” Interestingly, the executives quoted appear to be doing more than cozying up to a front-runner – their decision to give seems motivated by personal beliefs.

In case you forgot, today’s the day of John McCain’s big Atlanta fundraiser, one former Jack Abramoff associate Ralph Reed has played a big role in promoting. But the event isn’t big enough to merit attendance by most of the state’s Republican U.S. House delegation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Ben Smith. Only one of the state’s five GOP congressmen will be in attendance.

McCain kicks off the week by going on the record about Randy Scheunemann, the foreign policy advisor whose lobbying ties to Georgia have raised questions: “I’m proud to have supported them,” McCain said of Georgia in an interview with USA Today. “And I’m so proud that so many of my friends have done so, who also believe in freedom and democracy.”

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Kevin Diaz takes a look at presidential fundraising in the state that will host this year’s Republican National Convention (and home of possible VP candidate Gov. Tim Pawlenty). About three-fourths of McCain’s Minnesota donations are from donors of $1,000 or more, compared to 20 percent for Barack Obama.

Buried deep in a story about the candidates’ views on financial markets, The New York Times notes that Phil Gramm, the former senator and lobbyist many thought the campaign exiled after his remarks about a “mental recession” and a “nation of whiners,” is still a go-to guy for McCain on domestic policy, and is still a top prospect for Treasury secretary in a McCain administraion.

Finally, a reminder that reliance on big money is a bipartisan affair: The Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet reports on Obama’s $7.8 million haul at a three-hour fundraiser in San Francisco, where Nancy Pelosi was one of the attendees.

Know of anything else we should mention on this blog? Send it to the Tipline at [email protected]!

We kick off the day with two news stories that show the staying power of two people John McCain may rather not have around: former Sen. Phil Gramm and President Bush.

The Associated Press’ Deb Reichmann finds that Bush has netted nearly $1 billion for the GOP (including himself), showing he’s still a prolific fundraiser despite his low approval ratings. This year alone, he’s helped the party pull in $70 million. Of course, Bush’s effectivness as a fundraiser for John McCain ends once McCain accepts the GOP nomination – but his ability to raise money for the Republican National Committee will continue until election day.

And, yes, Phil Gramm, he of the “nation of whiners” comment, shared the stage with McCain at an event in Aspen on Thursday, according to The Washington Post’s Michael D. Shear. Perhaps the allure of Gramm’s fundraising connections was just too much for McCain to resist?

In one of the day’s more thought-provoking articles, CQ’s David Nather asks a question that’s been on our minds for awhile, too: Why has McCain, “the man who claims to be the enemy of powerful lobbyists and special interests…surrounded himself with lobbyists and former lobbyists on his campaign team”? The answer: McCain is OK with special interests as long as they’re also his interests. (Though, really, that’s true for any politician. The real question is whether those lobbyists are helping define what McCain’s interests are.)

Keep an eye on which sports teams McCain is rooting for: Sports team owners have given the candidate $3.2 million, compared to only $615,000 given to Barack Obama, The Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel and Matthew Lindsey report.

However, Obama is doing quite well in getting donations from employees of securities, mortgage and drug companies, Bloomberg’s Jonathan D. Salant writes, beating McCain by $3 million – a reversal from 2004, when Bush held a significant edge over John Kerry. The explanation? Concerns over the Iraq war that trump economic self-interest and serious questions about McCain.

Finally, something to keep in mind when the conventions kick off about 10 days from now: special interests are footing the bill, as USA Today’s Fredreka Schouten notes.