The rewarding of big-money donors at the coming conventions strikes some discordant notes for Senator Barack Obama — and Senator John McCain, too — as each has sharply criticized the influence of money in politics. Corporate and other special-interest money will be as pervasive as ever at this year’s Democratic convention.

In 2004, Harold Simmons donated $2 million to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose advertisements against then-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry included one that, with allegations since discredited, impugned Senator Kerry’s military service as a Swift boat captain during the Vietnam War.

Democrats have increasingly highlighted Senator John McCain’s wealth. Senator Barack Obama ridiculed him on Thursday for being unable to say how many homes he owned, saying it showed that Mr. McCain was out of touch with ordinary Americans.

Corporations and convention party planners are scrambling to comply with sweeping ethics rules in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 that prohibit lobbyists from paying for gifts, including meals and music. In place of the old rules, confusion over what is legal has taken center stage.

Here’s a rare look into the world of campaign financing in Australia. It comes in the form of an offer document to the corporate sector being circulated by Labor HQ in the interests of raising money for the party. And on any measure it’s Kevin Rudd who’s up for sale.

Kansas Democratic candidate Sean Tevis raised more than $96,000 from nearly 6,000 people, many of whom do not live in the state, after publishing a cartoon advertisement on the Internet. Mr. Tevis hit his initial fundraising goal of $26,000 in less than a day.

Democratic politicians receive a 40% increase in contributions in the 30 days after appearing on the comedy cable show ‘The Colbert Report’. In contrast, their Republican counterparts essentially gain nothing.

Led by Tom Matzzie, a liberal political operative who has been involved with some prominent left-wing efforts in recent years, the newly formed nonprofit group, Accountable America, is planning to confront donors to conservative groups, hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions.

The donations came under scrutiny because of their large size and the fact that for the most part, the Abdullahs do not appear wealthy. In addition, several of them interviewed expressed indifference or even hostility to Senator McCain’s candidacy.

Campaign finance records show Mr. McCain collected a little more than $50,000 in March from members of a single extended family, the Abdullahs, in California and several of their friends. Several donors initially wrote checks of $9,200, exceeding the $2,300 limit for an individual gift.