James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, says even Utah natives seldom return to the Beehive:

Nobody ever wants to leave Washington. You can't sell what they've learned in Washington back in Utah, in Provo or wherever.

Thurber says that the revolving door is like gravity, a law that cannot be changed. It's a cynical but accurate appraisal that I'll accept over the baloney spouted by the likes of Utah Sen. Bob Bennett.

Bennett, a powerful member of the Senate Banking Committee, has seen at least eight staffers become lobbyists, including three key aides who left to lobby against federal regulation for Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac. Bennett who has gotten $108,000 in donations — more than any other Republican — from the mortgage giants sees no problem.

Bennett argues with a straight face that having congressional staffers work for financial companies saves "everyone a lot of time and trouble by pointing out the realities of the way the government is structured."

Those structural "realities," we can presume, include giving Bob fat donations.

Bennett says being lobbied by old pals has another advantage:

I know them well enough to be able to say no to them without having to worry about it.