Must-read Byron Tau piece:

President Obama’s decision to encourage his donors to give to a super PAC does more than just empower an outside group looking to level the playing field with Republican groups.

It also opens to the door to a kind of influence peddling that was banned a decade ago under a landmark campaign finance law — with ramifications that go far beyond the scope of the Citizens United case that the White House professes to disdain. By granting permission for White House staffers and Cabinet secretaries to appear at super PAC events, the White House has returned to a system where corporate donors, unions and other wealthy individuals are able to pay big money for access to policymakers, lawmakers and key administration aides.

UPDATE: Sunlight weighs in, none too pleased.