In one of last nights debate exchanges Senator Clinton charged that Sen. Obama’s New Hampshire co-chair Jim Demers is a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry. Obama said the charge wasn’t true. Meanwhile Mark Halperin find’s that Jim Demers is indeed a registered lobbyist for both Pfizer and PhRMA.

So, basically, either Obama did not know his campaign co-chair was a registered lobbyist, or he lied?

Meanwhile Hillary Clinton’s Web site also points to the following:

From MSNBC:

Though Sen. Obama has also said that he won’t take federal PAC and lobbyist money on his campaign, he does take money from state based lobbyists as previously reported by First Read.

Sen. Obama’s co-chair in New Hampshire, Jim Demers, is a state based lobbyist for the pharmaceutical and financial services industries amongst others.

From Newsday SpinCylce

Anti-Lobbyist Obama enlists NH Lobbyist

Barack Obama has backhandedly slapped Hillary Rodham Clinton for accepting contributions from lobbyists and PACs, eschewing cash from both groups because he doesn’t want to be beholden to special interests. So it was with great interest that we read in the Boston Globe that BHO has enlisted New Hampshire lobbyist Jim Demers (who represents trial lawyers, firefighters and a major video poker/slot machine vendor, according to his firm’s Website) to be one of his New Hamsphire co-chairs.

Demers has already helped Obama organize events in the Granite State and has helped establish his organization.

In April, Obama refunded about $50,000 in lobbyist contributions. It’s not clear if Demers’ $2,300 was among the refunds. (His name isn’t on Obama’s refunds list because the campaign is only rejecting cash from federal lobbyists — an interesting ethical hair-split).

Even if he refunded Demers’ check – and we have no reason to believe Demers has anything but the purest motives for joining the campaign — the hiring raises questions. What good is returning a few grand from a lobbyist if that lobbyist is going to have unfettered access to the candidate as a volunteer?