Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institute was a champion of the McCain-Feingold reforms, and his analysis helped get the law passed. Now, as he explains in an interview with Abby Rapoport at The American Prospect, he is leaning more towards what can be done with public financing of campaigns, both fixing the presidential system and creating a Congressional system.

According to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Medicare Part D makes terrific financial sense...for pharmaceutical companies. A report from the committee shows a $3.7 billion profit in the last two years for pharmaceutical companies due to more favorable reimbursements under Part D -- not a bad return on investment for the $36 million the industry has poured into campaign coffers in that same time period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Research done by Public Campaign Action Fund's Campaign Money Watch project has revealed that though the candidates in this year's presidential race may be different than in years past, the big donors sure aren't -- at least when it comes to the migration of President Bush's best bundlers to the donor rolls of Sen. John McCain's campaign. One hundred and twenty-four bundlers for Bush's campaign are now bundling for McCain, and have brought in just shy of $26 million.