The megabucks of Election 2008

Regardless of who wins tonight, the primary importance of money in our political system remains well-entrenched.

Obama has succeeded in taking a page from the Republican playbook (remember W's Pioneers and Rangers?), outraising McCain by hundreds of millions. There are some differences in the overall tactics, but the results seem pretty much the same.

Closer to home, Clean Elections' legislation seems to be going nowhere fast, even if it's easy to recognize the shortcomings of the status quo.

This might have been a useful issue for the state GOP, but Gio Cicione, during a recent appearance on Newsmakers, pronounced himself skeptical about well-intentioned attempts at campaign finance reform. Fair enough, but does that mean that the present approach is as good as it gets?