With the end of the 2004 election cycle, political strategists, pollsters and campaigners will have earned themselves some vacation time. Then they'll go right back to work, offering their services and connections to private sector clients. In this issue of PR Watch, we look at two firms that exemplify this kind of influence. Diane Farsetta profiles Michael Whouley and his Dewey Square Group, a Democratic lobby/PR shop. Laura Miller examines Tom Synhorst and his Republican-affiliated firms, including the DCI Group and Feather Larson Synhorst-DCI.

Whouley and Synhorst may have battled against each other during the election cycle, but when it comes to lobbying, they are comrades in arms. As the Washington Post's Jeffery H. Birnbaum observes, Dewey Square and FLS-DCI "have worked in tandem for such diverse clients as General Motors Corp., the American Insurance Association, AT&T Corp., Blue Cross-Blue Shield Association and Microsoft Corp." Birnbaum explains that the two firms' "forays into electoral politics clearly help them lure corporate clients."

Also in this issue, Sheldon Rampton interviews Eric Dezenhall, the head of an aggressive "crisis management" firm and the author of several books that satirize the public relations industry. And Bob Burton looks the tobacco industry's spin campaign to minimize media coverage of the current Justice Department $280 billion racketeering case against the industry. If you haven't read much about it, Bob's article helps explain why.