is there room for professionals on social networking?

As a better-be soon-to-be attorney, I've had to do a lot of re-thinking about my "stuff" on the internet. I've made sure that my blog and twitter don't mention my full name anywhere, and my pictures there are only of me in shades and a sketch of my face. I've also taken down all my image sharing galleries (except on Facebook). Basically, I'm trying to keep my "public presence" on the internet as un-connectible as possible to the real me.

Which gets me to Facebook.

I have been very tempted to delete my profile page, just because I am simply uncomfortable with a prospective employer or client finding it. I don't want them to think of me as some kid with a website on the internet, but a professional who's too busy for that crap. I've set my privacy settings to be pretty protective, so that a non-friend searching for me will only be able to see there's a guy with my name on facebook. And even then I have a pretty laid back profile, with a picture of me in a shirt and tie, looking all nice and professional, and I left any group that borders on controversial (like "I drive my ride like it's stolen").

But at the same time, do we not have every notable political candidate with facebook and twitter accounts? Are they actually run by them? Of course not. But it establishes a custom that maybe having a non-anonymous presence on social networking sites shouldn't be considered unprofessional, despite every career counselor telling you to delete every piece of evidence you ever touched a computer.