Yes, it is fantasy. It is also worth noting that not all lobbying is “created equal.” Sure, we hear about stories like these in which lobbying firms skirt the legal lines and clearly cross the ethical ones. But we never hear about the thousands of lobbyists who toil away on behalf of causes that don’t bring them wealth. There are environmental lobbyists, and lobbyists for health care research, and lobbyists for poor children, and lobbyists for peace processes, and there are lobbyists for religious groups and community service groups and veterans groups. Lobbying, for all its negative connotations and all its excesses, is the term we use to describe a very important and democratic process: the attempt to influence our country’s leaders toward a particular point of view. That’s not a bad thing, its a good thing.