Depends on what your definition of a lobbyist is

Barack Obama makes a point of turning down donations from lobbyists, including those who represent foreign governments.

But did the Obama campaign violate its own rules by accepting a $2,300 contribution in May from Gabriel Guerra, a lawyer who was a U.S. ambassador to Chile under President Clinton?

In part, it depends on how technical you want to be. To be sure, Guerra worked at the Washington lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs. And the firm last year registered Guerra as a foreign agent who offered advice to Patton Boggs and its client, Peru, on free-trade issues.

Yet Guerra, sometimes identified as Guerra-Mondragon, actually quit working for Patton Boggs in February and has since joined a Chicago-based law and lobbying firm.

This month, Patton Boggs is deleting Guerra’s name from its roster of foreign agents in paperwork being submitted to the Justice Department, and he no longer will be listed as a registered agent by either his old firm or his new firm, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal.

Once a major fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton, Guerra made a splash in April by defecting to Obama.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton dismissed the notion that the campaign bent its rules when it accepted Guerra’s support.

“Guerra doesn’t lobby, hasn’t lobbied since he has begun supporting our campaign, and once this technicality is resolved, he won’t even be registered to lobby with his former employer,” Burton said.

-- Dan Morain