ARE LOBBYING OPPORTUNITIES KEY TO FEDEX NAMING RIGHTS DEAL?

          FedEx's "pending" $205M naming rights deal for Redskins
     Stadium is "one of the most expensive lobbying moves" in DC
     history, according to Eric Fisher of the WASHINGTON TIMES,
     who writes that the company "will use the pact to help
     advance its active political agenda."  Analysts say that the
     deal will "boost FedEx's already robust political profile,
     which dwarfs its competitors in terms of money spent to win
     hearts and minds on Capitol Hill."  The Bonham Group Chair
     Dean Bonham, who has worked with FedEx on some sponsorship
     deals: "A relationship with the Redskins would be a very
     valuable tool to exert influence."  Meanwhile, the Int'l
     Brotherhood of Teamsters is "opposing" the naming rights
     deal, claiming that FedEx "should be using the funds to pay
     its employees higher wages" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/29).