Today is the fifth anniversary of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law, and as Josh Gerstein of the New York Sun reports, "there is no indication that the spigot of campaign cash has been restricted," as $100 million is expected to be raised between all presidential candidates this quarter. However, the chief impact of the law may be on Sen. John McCain himself whose involvement with reform "has been one of the factors dampening his popularity with Republican faithful."

In more money news, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson asked for $500,000 of contributions through his website after announcing last month that he already raised $2 million.

In Iowa yesterday, former Gov. Tom Vilsack pledged he and his wife would help Sen. Hillary Clinton win the Iowa caucuses. In an interview with the Quad-City Times, Clinton said the Iraq war was "one of the most irresponsible positions any American president" has ever taken. She then blamed President Bush for the war and absolved Democrats. "He decided to wage it. He went in on a pre-emptive campaign. He mismanaged it. The Democrats are not responsible for this war. This is George Bush's war, and it's his responsibility to end it before he leaves office," she said. Clinton said she would end the war if elected.

Mike Allen of the Politico writes that rookie mistakes in the form of small contradictions and discrepancies have plagued Sen. Barack Obama. These haven't hurt him yet, but this is Obama's first time on a stage where "small mistakes can have disproportionately large consequences."

On the GOP side, Sen. Sam Brownback said some Republicans in Iowa question why he doesn't support the surge in Iraq. "They push back on my not supporting the surge," Brownback said. "I hope and pray the surge works and the early data, the early information, looks good that it is, but it's not sufficient."

Meanwhile, Republican House members are beginning to enter the presidential endorsement fray. The Politico's Jonathan Martin reports that GOP Reps. Gresham Barrett (SC), Lynn Westmoreland (GA) and Jeff Miller (FL) are all willing to publicly support Fred Thompson for president. Fifty other House members have "already expressed interest in meeting with Thompson when he comes to Capitol Hill" on April 18th.

Elsewhere, Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany endorsed Rudy Giuliani a week after Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) announced his support.

Find the rest of today's political news at RCP's Politics and Elections page.

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