Google Joins the Lobbying Herd - New York Times

Google Joins the Lobbying Herd - New York Times "Google has hired politically connected lobbying firms and consultants with ties to Republican leaders like the party chairman, Ken Mehlman; Speaker J. Dennis Hastert; and Senator John McCain; and advisers say the company may set up a fund-raising arm for political donations to candidates. And in a town where Republicans hold the levers of power, Google has begun stockpiling pieces of the party's machine."

It's unfortunate this sort of stuff appears to be a cost of conducting post-90s business in the US... but it's also very pragmatic on Google's part.