1.   Clinton stayed long enough to press the flesh and view several sample issue ads with the donors.

2.   And in recent years, the national parties have ever more aggressively wooed big donors, pouring their contributions into issue ads to bolster chosen candidates.

3.   And two-thirds of issue ads were paid for by political parties, with interest groups airing the rest.

4.   As Reno weighs her decision, the political parties have joined in a lawsuit to expand the use of issue ads.

5.   Beginning this month, however, spending on issue ads by tax-exempt groups will have to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

6.   Both Alexander and Forbes have already spent large sums on issue ads in early primary states like New Hampshire.

7.   Both Clinton and Dole have said they believe the issue ads were legal and they did not violate the law.

8.   A House bill, sponsored by Meehan and Shays, is broader, putting stricter limits on issues ads.

9.   According to lawyers who have seen the FEC memo, the auditors concluded that the Democratic issue ads contained electioneering messages that could have violated federal election laws.

10.   Allowing independent groups to raise unlimited money for phony issue ads is far from ideal.