Nearly three out of five voters (57%) believe it is not possible to run for the presidency without the help of lobbyists and special interest groups, even as the Obama campaign purged itself of an official with ties to the subprime lending crisis.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey, taken within hours of James A. Johnson stepping down as head of Barack Obama’s vice-presidential search team, found that only 23% think a candidate can run without the aid of special interests and lobbyists. One-fifth of voters (21%) are undecided.

Despite the media pounding Obama has taken over the Johnson issue, 34% of voters think the Democrat is more ethical than other politicians as opposed to 27% who believe the same of Republican contender John McCain. Twenty-one percent (21%) rate Obama as less ethical than his political peers, while only 13% think that of McCain.

Eighty-three percent (83%) rate McCain at least as ethical as most politicians and 72% say the same of Obama. Obama currently leads McCain nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Obama, who first came to Washington as a senator little over three years ago, has campaigned as a political outsider free from the influence of special interests. McCain, elected to the House in 1982 and a senator since 1986, has a track record as a Washington insider. But since being caught up in the Keating Five S&L scandal in the late 1980s, he has gone out of his way to portray himself as independent from lobbyists.

With the success of their presidential candidacies, however, both men have drawn criticism for their increasing use of long-time party players who almost inevitably have lobbying and special interest ties -- something which voters responding to the new survey seem to understand and accept.

Thirty-one percent (31%) of voters, for example, believe Obama is very likely to be heavily influenced by lobbyists and special interests and another 28% say such influence is somewhat likely in an Obama Administration. For McCain, 35% think he is very likely to be heavily influenced by these insiders and another 33% say somewhat likely.

Political affiliation and income level also appear to be determining factors in voters’ views about the role of lobbyists in a presidential campaign.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of Republicans and 64% of unaffiliated voters say it is not possible to run for the presidency without ties to special interests, but only 47% of Democrats agree. Twenty-one percent (21%) of Republicans, 28% of Democrats and 17% of unaffiliated voters say it can be done.

The more a voter earns, the more likely he or she believes in the inevitability of lobbyist ties to a presidential campaign. Only 40% of those earning less than $20,000 annually believe it is not possible to run for president without links to special interests, while 69% of those earning more than $100,000 a year feel that way.

Fifty percent (50%) of voters who call themselves conservatives think Obama is very likely to be heavily influenced by lobbyists and special interest groups, and 45% of liberals think the same of McCain. But moderates see the Republican candidate as more vulnerable in this area: 39% believe McCain is very likely to be heavily influenced, while only 22% think that of Obama.

The interaction between lobbyists and politicians may be distasteful to many, but voters recognize it as part of the current culture in Washington. Two years ago, when the Abramoff scandal shook the Capitol, just 15% of Americans believe Abramoff did anything different than what lobbyists typically do.

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