Center For Responsive Politics

U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics reported. Troops serving abroad have given nearly six times as much money to Obama's presidential campaign as they have to McCain's, the group said. The group tracked donations of $200 or more. It found that 859 members of the military donated a total of $335,536 to Obama.

Three leaders in the congressional campaign to discourage Chinese oil company CNOOC Ltd.'s acquisition of Unocal Corp. accepted campaign contributions from rival suitor Chevron Corp. in recent weeks, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) have been among the most vocal on Capitol Hill in criticizing CNOOC's proposed deal as anti-competitive and a threat to national security.

Do Democrats and liberals dominate college campuses in the United States? Here's what some studies show: Among faculties * Academics who identified themselves as left or liberal in 1984: 39% in 1999: 72% * Academics who identified themselves as right or conservative in 1984: 34% in 1999: 15% * Among faculties in 1999, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 5 to 1 * The Democratic advantage by department in 1999 English: 35 to 1 History: 17.

President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to name Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley as a top member of his environmental protection team, a Democrat familiar with the appointment said Tuesday. Sutley is to be made chairwoman of the Council on Environmental Quality, which helps coordinate and devise environmental policies for the White House. She now serves as deputy mayor for energy and environment, and is on the board of directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Democratic candidate Wesley K. Clark is making a new pitch for donations, inviting Internet donors to his presidential campaign to predict the World Series champion with their money pledge. It's another novel way candidates are using the Web to attract dollars and draw attention. The "Clark 04 Baseball Challenge" appeals to fans to make a contribution to the retired general's campaign on behalf of their favorite team, the New York Yankees or the Florida Marlins.

Amgen Inc. on Tuesday said it hired Washington lawyer David Beier to lead the biotech company's lobbying effort in the nation's capital, replacing longtime chief lobbyist Peter Teeley. Beier, 55, joins Amgen as the company readies for a challenging year. Medicare is reviewing reimbursement for Amgen's mainstay anemia drug, Epogen, and analysts expect the program to reduce payments in 2005. Epogen sales are likely to reach $2.5 billion this year.

With his million-dollar donation to the pro-Obama "super PAC," Bill Maher has established himself among the top Democratic mega-donors, a field dotted with boldface Hollywood names. Donors from the entertainment industry gave $2.2 million through January to Priorities USA Action, according to the Center for Responsive Politics -- half of the group's overall fundraising since it formed last spring. Much of that came from a single donation by Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, who wrote a $2-million check to the group last May. His former producing partner, director Steven Spielberg, contributed $100,000 in July.

While Congress likely will be grappling with his jobs package, President Obama plans to make a western swing late next month, one that will include fund-raisers in Hollywood and La Jolla. The fund-raisers will be held Sept. 26 and will come as part of a three-day trip that is scheduled to bring Obama to Seattle the day before and Denver on the 27th. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Obama will court entertainment industry insiders at events at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard and then later at the Fig & Olive restaurant on Melrose Place.

That “substantial donation” that casino magnate Sheldon Adelson reportedly made to the pro-Newt Gingrich "super PAC" Winning Our Future last month? Pretty substantial, as it turns out. The Las Vegas mogul and his wife put another $5 million into the super PAC in February, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed Tuesday. His daughter, Shelley Adelson, donated $500,000. Altogether, the Adelson family has given Winning Our Future $16.5 million out of the $18.8 million it has raised.

WASHINGTON - The financial firepower that fueled the rise of a network of conservative advocacy groups now pummeling Democrats with television ads can be traced, in part, to Box 72465 in the Boulder Hills post office, on a desert road on the northern outskirts of Phoenix. That's the address for the Center to Protect Patient Rights, an organization with ties to Charles and David H. Koch, the billionaire brothers who bankroll a number of conservative organizations. During the 2010 midterm election, the center sent more than $55 million to 26 GOP-allied groups, tax filings show, funding opaque outfits such as American Future Fund, 60 Plus and Americans for Job Security that were behind a coordinated campaign against Democratic congressional candidates.