Winning elections is now more expensive than ever so the parties and candidates are now even more dependent on corporations. As Will Hutton points out in his book The Writing On The Wall, back in 1974 a candidate challenging an incumbent in the House of Representatives spent $100,00 in real terms but today it's $1.5 million.

As the American Political Science Association points out in its 2004 paper American Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality, money buys power. "Money is the oxygen of today's elections, given the reliance of candidates on high-priced consultants and expensive media advertisements. The principal problem is where the money comes from and the influence it buys. Big contributors have the power to discourage or perhaps suffocate unfriendly candidates by denying them early or consistent funding. After the election, moreover, government officials need information to do their jobs, and research shows that big contributors earn the privilege of regularly meeting with policy-makers in their offices. Money buys the opportunity to present self-serving information or raise some problems for attention rather than others."

So who is bankrolling the candidates in the primaries?

According to the latest figures published by Mother Jones, the financial, insurance, real estate and legal indutries are putting up most of the money. These sectors have provided more than half the funding for Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Giuliani, Romney, McCain and Thompson. Not Huckabee, but he's damn close.

Other interesting snippets: Giuliani has received more money from the tobacco, gambling, and oil and gas industries than any other candidate and McCain is the top recipient of telecom money and the second-biggest recipient of lobbyist money (after Clinton).

It will be interesting to see if the favors are called in.