Mark Leibovich Dishes Out The Dirt On Washington D.C.

Mark Leibovich, Author of

and chief national correspondent at

Magazine, talked about his new book, and some of the

behind diving into Washington, D.C.'s dirt, as a guest on CNBC's Squawk Box Wednesday morning. Leibovich centered in on the rhetoric of the Obama administration, particularly the claim that they would be different from what the United State has seen during past presidencies. Obama said that his administration would be better, and would "close the revolving door" in order to put a stop to the money game that casts a dark tint over politics over the nation's capital. Obama was going to change Washington, D.C. "His people all had to sign this 'No Ego, No Glory' form when they came into the transition staff. Then all of the sudden you have, just, not so much a revolving door traditionally, but there is this seamless interplay between K Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue," said Leibovich. "And this has sort of been a pipe dream it turns out."

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Leibovich said that Americans need "to wonder who is working for whom. Are people working for their next employer?" He paraphrased a lobbyist that said once they've talked to someone within the administration or on Capitol Hill and said: " 'Well, you should think about where you're going to come to work after you're finished in public service,' I know I've owned him,' " Leibovich said in regards to the rampant political manipulation that crosses over between the private sector and public service. "Everyone is essentially so availed of so much money coming out of government, they clearly have their eye on the next gig," said Leibovich. Leibovich went on to say that a core point of the book that he'd like to get across to those outside of Washington, D.C. is that "disagreement is very good business in Washington." He said that whenever bills don't get passed, corporations invest lots of money into paying lobbyists and corporate consultants that can influence the bills that aren't getting passed, and there's also loads of money within the media through punditry. "Washington itself has become a wealth machine," said Leibovich. According to Leibovich, Washington D.C. has more in common with the status-obsessed mentality of Hollywood, Wall Street and Silicon Valley than the Washington, D.C. that was once perceived as focusing on public service.