McCain is purging active lobbyists from his campaign team in a quest to wrest the reformist title from Democrat Barack Obama.

More than a few Republican lobbyists in Washington are scratching their heads these days, asking: So this is the thanks we get?

It was a small band of loyal lobbyists who stood by presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain last August when his campaign went broke and his White House aspirations seemed doomed.

They raised money for him under impossible odds and kept him company in budget hotels during his darkest days.

Now they are under siege as McCain purges active lobbyists from his campaign team in a quest to wrest the reformist title from Democrat Barack Obama, his likely opponent in this fall’s general election.

The timing, motivation and even the details of the policy itself all are the subject of debates and consternation this week at water coolers, in restaurants and on conference calls on K Street.