Hansen was clearly doing the right thing. His ties to affected military installations, and to Utah generally, would not allow him an unbiased view.

But it shows just how incestuous the Washington influence-go-round is that Hansen's vote on an installation far from Utah sifts out as more than a little fishy.

Hansen, like far too many other former members of Congress, hires himself and his Rolodex out as a paid lobbyist for various causes. One of those causes, which he was long known to support even before the Davis County Council of Governments retained his services, was the controversial Legacy Highway connecting Farmington with North Salt Lake.

Hansen helped write a proposed 11th-hour amendment to the giant transportation bill that, had it passed, would have cut off further court challenges based on Legacy's environmental impact.

One of the people who needed to be lobbied if that plan were to become reality was Rep. Don Young, an Alaska Republican who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee. Young, meanwhile, was also after something. He wanted the BRAC to spare Alaska's Eielson AFB from the closure list.

While both men deny any overt quid pro quo, the fact is that Young got some of what he wanted, thanks to the Hansen-made, BRAC-passed motion to preserve part of Eielson's function.

But, at least on the narrow issue of the Legacy amendment, Hansen did not get what he wanted. His Young-supported Legacy cut-off idea was blocked by Senate Democrats.

That might mean Young is a better lobbyist than Hansen. It definitely means that the presence on the BRAC commission of active lobbyists is something that ought to be avoided in the future.

The strength of the BRAC process, with most of its commissioners being retired military officers and only a couple of political and industry representatives, is that its very difficult decisions are seen as, if not absolutely accurate, at least untainted by log-rolling.

Paid lobbyists on the panel taint that image. It should not be read as a slam at Hansen when we say that it should not be allowed to happen again.