Yesterday I speculated that McCain picked Sarah Palin as his VP over the objections of his advisers. I thought that McCain -- who prides himself on fighting corruption in politics -- somehow saw himself in her. But both politicians have experience with the very thing they pride themselves on fighting.

In the case of McCain, his efforts to rid politics of the corrupting influence of corporate money followed his protection of Charles Keating who was securing a real estate deal for his wife, Cindy. The bankruptcy of Keating's S&L cost taxpayers $3.4 billion. More recently former McCain Finance Chair Tom Loeffler, a lobbyist for French company EADS, parent of Airbus, helped it and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) to prevail in a $35 billion competition for airborne refueling Tankers in February over Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) before the General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that the process was flawed.

Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin, knows a thing or two about lobbyists. The New York Times reveals that she won that post after taking on bribery charges from the oil industry against politicians -- her attack against such corrupting influences helped her prevail over former Alaska governor, Frank Murkowski. That's why it came as a surprise to learn that as governor Palin employed a lobbyist for an energy company for which she procured $500 million in state subsidies so it could build a gas pipeline.

Reuters reports that Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) is signaling that it may not submit a bid for the $35 billion Air Force contract for Tankers -- airborne refueling vehicles. Is Boeing serious about not submitting a bid or is it using its leverage to get the Air Force to revise the bidding process to create a more level playing field?

The tanker contract has a long history. The Air Force awarded it this February to EADS, parent of Airbus, and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC). Boeing protested the award citing errors in the way the process was run. The General Accounting Office (GAO) sided with Boeing. And the Air Force announced that it would rebid the contract. But many thought that the rebidding process favored the French company.

Now Boeing is considering not submitting a bid. If Boeing ends up not bidding, it will be an embarrassment for the Air Force, which was bending over backwards to change the specifications to keep Airbus and Northrop in the process so there would be two bidders. Or it might have been to satisfy Thomas Loeffler, an EADS lobbyist who headed up John McCain's finance committee. Regardless of why it was done, if Boeing doesn't bid, the Air Force will be in a tight spot.