Welcome to the NPR chat. We We'll be getting started in about 15 minutes. To start with, the preisdential candidates have raised more than anybody's ever raised before. George Bush's campaign has raised a bit more than twice what any previous presidential candidate has raised. At the Congressional level, the party committee committee's are setting some records for fundraising, too.
Soft money is the unregulated money from corporations, unions, and rich people.
And unions and corporations are prohibited from giving directly to candidates, so they give soft money to the party instead. It's an issue for Bush because John McCain made it an issue in the Republican primaries. To reform advocates, political money isn't an issue of free speech, it's an issue of property. The recent Supreme Court decision seemed to take a small step in their direction. But there's still no sign that the Senate is going to buy into that argument.