Bob's List of Ten Things You Need to Know about Campaign Finance at the Presidential Level

1. Money IS the "Mother's Milk of Politics"

2. Costs are rising

3. Excess breeds reform

4. Reform begets more reform

5. Laws are complex

6. Presidential Rules:

    Part I. Disclosure -- like sunlight? the most successful part

    Part II. Limits -- not so much success

    Part II. Public finance and "clean elections" -- very little success at national level

               Primaries

               Conventions

               General Election Campaign

7. A good fat cat is hard to keep down -- 527 committees and 501c groups

8. It is better to spend other people's money

9. Nothing succeeds like success

10. You can only go so far in reform