If you think the presidential candidates come with too many corporate and lobbying strings attached now, just wait until their parties' national conventions kick off in a few months.
Behind the gloss you see on TV--the rousing keynote speeches, a candidate's formal acceptance of the nomination, the unwavering celebration of a particular party--the conventions are schmoozefests for business and lobbying interests. Their bashes and industry functions give business types extraordinary access to a forum of federal, state and local political leaders they'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else. This year's Democratic National Convention in Denver, Aug. 25-28, and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Sept. 1-4, will be no different.
What about the lobbying restrictions passed by Congress last year? Easy to circumvent. The best rule of thumb for corporate types: Don't host an event for a specific lawmaker, but events open to certain delegations are fair game. Last month, the House of Representatives' ethics committee sent members and their employees lenient guidelines on accepting gifts at the conventions.
Meredith McGehee, policy director for the Campaign Legal Center, says over-the-top wining and dining, a hallmark of past conventions, is probably a thing of the past--but there will still be "a fair amount of partying" going on.
"What's going to be interesting to see is how they bill these [functions] and what kind of invitations they'll send," she says.
Another lobbying wrinkle drawing a lot of attention: the 2002 campaign finance reform law, which banned unlimited "soft money" contributions to political campaigns, doesn't apply to convention fundraising committees. That means there's an enormous amount of cash flowing in from the corporate arena.
Host committees for both the Republicans and Democrats each have more than 50 sponsors, nearly all of them identical. They include Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people ), Anadarko Petroleum (nyse: APC - news - people ), Comcast (nasdaq: CMCSA - news - people ), Allstate (nyse: ALL - news - people ), Anheuser-Busch (nyse: BUD - news - people ), 3M (nyse: MMM - news - people ) and AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ). Sponsors can often deduct their contributions to the host committees for tax purposes.
Companies are also contributing to the conventions in other ways. UAL's (nasdaq: UAUA - news - people ) United Airlines is the official airline of the Democratic convention delegates, providing discounted fares to officials. Hometown favorite Northwest Airlines is handling the duties for the Republican convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) is the official technology provider for both events. Not surprising, since most of the computers will already be running the company's Windows software.
The Republican host committee is trying to raise $46.4 million by June 15 and says that it's "on track" to meet this goal. The funding pays for things like delegate transportation, staff expenses, insurance and setup of the convention hall itself. In return, sponsors get high visibility, access to hospitality suites and preferred convention seating, depending on the amount donated.
The host committee for the Democratic convention has a goal to raise $40.6 million by mid-June. A committee official would not say whether that goal has been met; the host committee will release the results of its fundraising efforts on Monday.
Host committee fundraising is separate from the $16.4 million the Democratic and Republican parties receive from Uncle Sam to support the conventions, and $50 million they receive in government money for security, according to a recent report by the Campaign Finance Institute.
The same report criticized both parties for their fundraising efforts, taking aim at Republicans for going outside the host committee to drum up cash and the Democrats for having a high-profile lobbyist in charge of convention fundraising.
This year, corporations have a lot to discuss with politicians. Legislation on energy policy, labor rights, patent reform and pending trade deals are just some of the items that have gotten stalled in Washington--not surprising with a lame duck in the White House. Xcel Energy (nyse: XEL - news - people ), which is providing power to both conventions, will give delegates tours of wind farms in Minneapolis and Denver. The Service Employees International Union, pushing for more worker protection, which is pushing for more affordable health care, will use bus tour stops in both cities to give politicians and delegates "mini-clinics" on the issue.
The corporate connection isn't a reflection on the candidates themselves (at least not yet). No matter, both presumptive nominees already have their own lobbyist problems. Last week, a key adviser to the vice-presidential selection committee of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., resigned after his connections to troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (nyse: CFC - news - people ) came to light. Several staffers for Republican Sen. John McCain's campaign have left due to potentially embarrassing lobbying ties.
Even if Obama and McCain steer clear of any future lobbying pratfalls, they and other politicians will have plenty of face time with business and lobbying groups in Denver and Minneapolis.
Says Nick Allard, a partner with the big Washington lobbying firm Patton Boggs: "We're obviously interested in politics, and this is the World Series."
--Additional reporting by Lea Erculiani and John Swan.
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