From "Despite Candidate Criticism, CEOs Still Players in Presidential Race" by Alex Knott and Jonathan Allen of CQPolitics.com, a reminder of the difference between politicians' rhetoric and actions regarding executive compensation:

The three remaining presidential candidates have made an art of bashing top corporate executives at public campaign rallies and a science of cashing in on their profits behind closed doors.

According to a new study by CQ MoneyLine, at least 170 of the chief executive officers of American companies ranked in the top 1,000 by Fortune Magazine have donated to Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama of Illinois, his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, presumed Republican nominee John McCain or some combination of the three.

Heads of companies that had a combined revenue of $2.5 trillion in 2007 contributed a total of $575,000, a pittance in presidential-level campaign finance circles but an indication that the nation’s business executives have not been muscled out of the influence arena by anti-corporate campaign rhetoric or promises of reform.

The set of CEO donors represents a broad cross-section of the titans of American business, spanning 56 industries. Many of them have given the maximum amount allowable, even as they are targeted for scorn on the campaign trail. That amount is $2300 for each election - primary and general are considered separate elections.

McCain, with 102 CEO donors, has accepted $282,000, easily outpacing Clinton’s $164,000 from 54 of the Fortune 1000 CEOs and more than double the $130,000 Obama has accepted from 45 of the nation’s chief executives.

“This isn’t just about expressing outrage,’’ Obama said last month as he spotlighted his support for Rep. Barney Frank ’s legislation giving shareholders a non-binding vote on CEO pay. ‘‘It’s about changing a system where bad behavior is rewarded so that we can hold CEOs accountable, and make sure they’re acting in a way that’s good for their company, good for our economy and good for America, not just good for themselves.’’

Obama, who makes a point of saying he takes no money from political action committees or federal lobbyists, has cashed checks from executives across the American corporate spectrum, including drug companies and oil companies.

McCain also has found fault with the nation’s top executives in very public arenas.

“Americans are also right to be offended when the extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEOs — in some cases, the very same CEOs who helped to bring on these market troubles — bear no relation to the success of the company or the wishes of shareholders,” he said in an economic speech the same week as Obama’s comments.

Clinton’s populist message has showcased how CEO pay has outpaced that of average Americans saying that these company leaders salaries have grown to “262 times the typical worker” in recent years.

“The CEOs and the boards of these companies are not sharing the wealth,” said Clinton, in a November speech on the economy. “So companies are actually profiting off of keeping workers’ wages stagnant.”