…See here….

…id not want Lieberman, and that the legal advice angle was a nice, face saving excuse for passing him over for Gov. Palin….

…The OMB guidance is here. Via Political Activity Law comes a link to this report in The Hill arguing that the guidelines are unconstitutional. William Luneberg, however, defends the law against constitutional challenge….

…National Journal offers this report ($)….

…Paul Caron, who has been on this since the beginning, reports….

…The Richmond Times-Dispatch has this story and UPI this one on today’s proceedings in McCain-Palin 2008 v. Cunningham. U.S. District Judge Richard Williams reportedly ruled that late-arriving overseas ballots don’t have to be counted because the election has been certified, but said that the U.S. Department of Justice and the State Board of Elections should work out a remedy for the next election….

…But it has. And of course Marc is right about the heartbeat sound….

…time, she has a net-negative fav/unfav rating (38%-47%), the only principal to carry that distinction. What’s more, 55% think she’s unqualified to serve as president if the need arises, which is a troublesome number given McCain’s age. (Have worries about McCain’s age risen because of Palin? Seems to be the case). In fact, her qualifications to be president rank as voters’ top concern about a McCain presidency — ahead of continuing Bush’s policie…

…Larry Lessig has the details….

…AP offers this report….

…e was my speculation (now quite unlikely) that Sen. McCain might drop Gov. Palin from the ticket. I started thinking about the Explainer this morning when I read this Los Angeles Times article on Sen. Biden releasing 10 years of his tax records. The article concludes by noting: “Biden, who underwent brain surgery for a life-threatening aneurysm in 1988, has yet to release his medical records.” Andrew Sullivan has been beating this drum for some ti…

…s outside resources. Instead, he needs groups that can go more negative on Palin and McCain. Obama is trying to run as a different kind of politician, and it would interfere with his branding to go overly negative. But outside can attack in ways that Obama cannot (think of the recent union ads attacking the cost of McCain’s shoes), and with the race tightening, especially in the battleground states, negative advertising probably is what the campai…

…pick was announced, discussing whether and how Sen. McCain could withdraw Palin as his VP candidate if necessary. The post was characterized by some as “liberal wishful thinking.” Perhaps. But with the many revelations about governor Palin, perhaps most importantly her ties to the Alaska secessionist party, the American Independence Party (whose leader has suggested that members “infiltrate” the two major parties), I think withdrawal of the expec…

…ESSAY ON ETHICAL LOBBYING, CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, RECIPROCITY, AND THE PUBLIC GOOD Thomas M. Susman LOBBYING IS AN HONORABLE PROFESSION: THE RIGHT TO PETITION AND THE COMPETITION TO BE RIGHT Nicholas W. Allard ANONYMITY AND ITS DUBIOUS RELEVANCE TO THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE LEGISLATION William V. Luneburg LOBBYING AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE: SEPARATE AND TOGETHER Richard Briffault WISCONSIN RIGHT TO LIFE AND THE RESURRECTION OF FURGA…

…I’ve put up an entry on the Palin pick by McCain. I’m likely to continue putting up purely political/non election law posts there up to election time….

…I offer some thoughts to Marc Ambinder. UPDATE: More bounce: Now Obama has an 8 point lead. These figures do not include polling from last night’s well received speech by Obama or Sen McCain’s bombshell pick of Sarah Palin. The earlier polls did not show an immediate Biden bounce, but we won’t ever know if a Palin bounce would be hidden in the continued uptick I expect to see after the speech last night….

…he contributions is, ever has been, or will be the object of Ms. Preston’s lobbying efforts. “I understand that lobbyists may be subject to reasonable restrictions on when we can give campaign contributions and how much we can give to campaigns, but the North Carolina law goes way too far,” said Preston. “Barring lobbyists from ever being able to give even one dollar to a candidate we believe in, just because of our chosen profession, is unfair, u…

…Politico reports here that “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac … have spent nearly $200 million on lobbying and campaign contributions” in the past decade….

…The latest report from the Campaign Finance Institute….

…So reports Lyle Denniston in an update to his earlier post….

…You can find the court’s opinion here. The court found the provision narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest….

…BNA has this story (subscription required), which reports that the Campaign Legal Center has urged the Attorney General “to beef up efforts to enforce the Lobbying Disclosure Act, following reports by BNA that the Justice Department has done little to enforce the lobbying law, except to write letters to possible violators.”…

…Eliza Newlin Carney has written this cover story (free access) for the new issue of National Journal. A brief description from the website: “A small group of lobbyists routinely hits the limit (now $108,200) on what an individual may donate to candidates — and political parties and political action committees. Some are driven by their passion for politics. Others see it as a necessary extension of their lobbying work.”…

…be able to lobby his colleagues in one year, rather than two under the new lobbying law), Gov. Barbour would have to call an election in early 2008, not November. As I read the statute, the Governor has 10 days to issue a proclamation setting a special election after receiving official notice of the vacancy, and it must be set within 90 days from the time of the proclamation. The only exception to this rule applies when “the vacancy shall occur in…

…Martin Gold and Dimple Gupta have written this NY Times oped, which begins: “DESPITE news coverage of the lobbying reform law passed in September, one change to Senate rules has gone unnoticed, one that makes it easier for last-minute proposals to be inserted into legislation behind closed doors.”…