The antics of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who stunned Washington with his guilty pleas to a number of federal fraud charges stemming from his lobbying activities, are bound to shake things up here at home in Hawai'i as well.

Abramoff has become the poster boy for what many people believe is a corrupt system in which lavish gifts and bundles of cash are handed around in exchange for legislative favors.

The unfair assumption now will be that every lobbyist operates this way in one form or another. That's not going to be a happy moment for local lobbyists who work the corridors and meeting rooms of the state Capitol on behalf of clients or their own employers.

There are around 270 lobbyists registered in Hawai'i with the state Ethics Commission. But that hardly tells the whole story. Many of the lobbyists, particularly the full-time professionals, have multiple clients.

And there are others who lobby but have failed to register, either because they don't realize they have to or because they want to operate under the radar.

For most of these folks, the extent of their lobbying involves testifying in hearings or urging friends and associates to contact key lawmakers. The pros go farther, spending endless hours on the railings of the Capitol waiting for a chance to buttonhole someone and trudging off in the evening to another in an endless series of fundraisers for which they have bought tickets.

But the buckets of cash and the lavish golf trips associated with Abramoff and his efforts are not a regular part of the picture. Our legislators are being wooed with the likes of plates of cookies, lei, motivational books and the inevitable manapua.

(You can look this up for yourself at www.state.hi.us /ethics/noindex/pubrec.htm.)

There was a time when things were a bit wilder, back before the gift disclosure law of 1992. Free memberships in exclusive golf clubs were common, as were Neighbor Island and overseas "fact-finding" trips.

Opening day of the Legislature saw truckloads of liquor, flowers and other gifts destined for legislative offices. Then there was the food. Man, was there food.

The master of winning the hearts of legislators through their stomachs was the late Tom "Fat Boy" Okuda, who lobbied on behalf of the Judiciary by wheeling in tray after tray of homecooked food for weary and hungry lawmakers. He was also considerate about asking courts to void traffic tickets for busy legislators and other officials.

In the era of Abramoff, all this comes across as rather simple and modest.

In truth, lobbyists succeed because their testimony and information is rock solid. And they are wizards of the gossip and insider information that is indispensible within the hothouse world of the Legislature. That's what folks really want, not another bottle of scotch.

Jerry Burris is The Advertiser's editorial page editor.

Reach Jerry Burris at jburris@honoluluadvertiser.com.