McCain asks staff to disclose lobbying ties

Aides would not say Friday if the memo prompted any other departures from the campaign.

Democrats have spent months pointing out the lobbying ties of Davis, Black and other McCain advisers. They argue that McCain's relationships with lobbyists belie his reputation as a reformer of money in politics.

"Senator McCain asking his lobbyist pal Rick Davis to 'clean the lobbyists' out of his campaign is like a farmer asking a fox to guard the hen house," Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera said Friday. But Democrats have ties to lobbyists, too, and the debate is likely to persist.

Clinton's top aide, Mark Penn, was demoted after word surfaced that he had met with Colombian government representatives to help promote a trade agreement that Clinton opposed. Penn worked as the chief executive of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.

Obama, does not take contributions from lobbyists, but does have advisers who are lobbyists. He has not released a complete list of the lobbyists who advise him.

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Associated Press writers Glen Johnson in St. Albans, W.Va., and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.