Two reasonably even handed reports in a row, discussing substantive issues, coming from big media. If another one shows up I'm not sure if I can take it. This time, ABC news brings us a nice, even-handed summary of how everyone has got their hand in the "getting someone else to do our dirty work" jar:

Sen. John Kerry and his campaign have spent much of the last week accusing President Bush's campaign of illegally coordinating with a third-party group that has been running scathing ads attacking the Democratic presidential nominee's war record ... Regardless of Kerry's feelings about this particular independent group and its charges, he has been more beneficiary than victim of these types of independent groups.

He's benefitted more mainly because he used them a lot during the primary fights, and the article does a very nice job summarizing those involvements.

This is all the direct result of the latest round of ever-more-futile campaign finance reforms. The cold truth is money follows power, and power follows money. Any attempt to separate the two with any sort of legal wall is at best naive and futile. At worst it provides the real power brokers on both sides of the aisle new and clever ways to hide their influence. Anyone who thinks it's just the other side that's dastardly enough to use them isn't paying attention.