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.

According to CRP, "At $5.3 billion, the 2008 contests will add up to the most expensive U.S. election in history (and, thus, probably the most expensive election the world has ever seen)."

The news of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) $150 million haul in September with an average donation under $100 combined with Obama's decision to opt out of the partial presidential public financing system gave political prognosticators and pundits the opportunity to declare the death of public financing. They signed the certificate and called the morgue.

A familiar face here on the Paid for by... blog, embattled Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) political fortunes survived another day and he'll head to a runoff against Helena Moreno on November 4th. (Due to Hurricane Gustav, the state shuffled the calendar around. The runoff will be on Election Day and the general election for the seat will be in December).

Ben Pershing of the Washington Post takes a look through the laundry list of scandals, indictments, and imprisonments and asks "what is the Hill Corrupt-o-Meter showing for the 110 Congress?" Apparently, this thing goes to eleven.

We've been following the many shady-sounding escapades of Alaska's long-serving Senator Ted Stevens (R) for some time now, right up to yesterday's 7-count indictment against Stevens for failing to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from oil services company Veco, the central corporation in the wide-ranging Alaska bribery investigation that has landed several state legislators in jail.

Bob Bernick Jr. acknowledges he feels like he's going out on a limb with this editorial in support of full public financing campaign. Bernick is writing in Utah's Deseret News, a paper that has covered its share of money in politics/lobbyists/corruption stories so this seems like a logical progression in their exploration of the topic, but Bernick has dim hopes about support in the state, and in Congress, for public financing.

The Senate just passed the FISA bill, passed by the House last month that gives telecommunications companies immunity from prosecution for their involvement in government wiretapping of their customers without a warrant. Why the eagerness in Congress to hand over a big "get out of jail free" card to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint?

Yesterday, Katie pointed to an "intern guide" leaked out of Rep. Don Young's (R-AK) office. The guide listed an "A Team" of lobbyists who were to be given access to any Young staff member they wanted.

It's of course no surprise that big corporate lobbyists get special treatment in Washington.

Lobbyists who gave thousands to Rep. Don Young (R-AK) over the course of his career were on an "A Team" granted special access to Young and his staff, according to an unofficial "survival guide" for interns in Young's office obtained by The Hill. In addition to explaining the preferences and quirks of Rep. Young and his wife, the guide lists the lobbyists who were given access to any staff member they wanted.

Wait, is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) combating legislation to create new carbon emission standards because it'll hurt oil company profits, or is he fighting the bill as a political maneuver to get revenge for Democrats holding up judicial nominations? When fighting legislation to make corporate interests happy, it's so hard to keep those flimsy excuses straight.