While Sen. Obama has boasted an amazing number of donors this election, cycle, the truth is, the number of Americans donating to candidates at the federal level remains relatively unchanged from previous elections.

From day one, members of Congress must spend time raising enough money to prepare for their next election, be it two years away or six. And the fundraising doesn't stop--even if you're in a safe seat or facing no opposition.

Our friends over at the indispensable Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) have made their prediction for the cost of the 2008 elections: $5.3 billion. Yes, that's a b. And that's a huge increase from the $4 billion raised in 2004.

Public Campaign Action Fund's David Donnelly contributed to this quick "news you can use" piece on Slate about a loophole in the presidential public financing program that lets participants continue to collect private contributions to pay for "compliance" costs associated with using public funds.  There's no set limit on what you can spend on compliance, so millions of dollars have been raised this way.

That age old question resurfaces for the newest celebrity in the Republican party: how do you sell yourself as a reformer and still play the big money politics game? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin surfaced from obscurity right into the center of a media frenzy and is now banking on her newfound fame to draw in big donors.  Later this month a fundraiser will charge $50,000 to GOP check-writers to dine and have their picture taken with McCain's ticketmate. 

It would seem that getting his home remodeled by an oil services company then wildly underreporting the value of that remodel is not the only questionable thing Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has been up to lately. Shocker, right? It appears that 'round about the time Stevens held his powerful post on the Senate Appropriations Committee a lobbying firm looking to win millions for their clients from the Committee went to work as fundraising consultants for Stevens.