How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Presidency?

The "Swift Boat" group viciously attacked Kerry's patriotism and service -- the Bush campaign could not safely have done this.

Obama's detractors have already released several such ads this year. McCain has come came out against these ads, which were funded by state Republican parties. He has asked the local GOP parties not to run the ads, and he has called for a clean campaign.

Will the ads continue to come out or will they stop? The media has lauded McCain's response to these ads. But future ads must be scrutinized because of the likely benefit to his campaign. McCain is the nominal Republican contender for the most powerful position in the world. If he can't control the soft money coming from conservative groups, what would that mean for the presidency?

Of course, the FEC should be exercising oversight on money in the election, but recent events have weakened the commission. The FEC board has not had a new member approved by the Senate since 2003. Four vacancies have brought oversight to a halt. Bill Buzenberg, executive director of CPI, said:

"We have the perfect storm. We have the first multi-billion-dollar election setting new records in funds raised, matched with the least amount of oversight ever. Worse, it could be years before the oversight problem gets resolved as billions of dollars flow unchecked into independent organizations."

Massie Ritsch, communications director at the Center for Responsive Politics, concurred: "In the most celebrated democracy in the world, in the most expensive election ever, it's embarrassing and alarming that we might not have a referee on duty to ensure that everyone plays by the rules."

Buzenberg concluded by questioning our democracy and our election process: "We like to tout our democracy, yet we are falling behind other democracies around the world. We require a federal standard for elections."