In a presidential campaign there’s a lot of competition to raise a lot of money, and so it’s no surprise that this year’s heated election comes with a trail of earnings comparisons and reports of lobbying ties — but, the difference this election season is that there are news sites where interested citizens can see the extent to which money influences the elections.

NOW on PBS’ Voter Tools:
Follow the money, see NOW’s Democracy Toolkit.

Find the answers to questions about campaign finance such as How money and campaign contributions affect an election.

and, McCain’s Financial Dilemma: a report from February: The Arizona senator raised just $15 million in March, and questions have recently surfaced over his finances after his senior fund-raiser quit over his links to lobbyists.

OpenSecrets.org:
A site with public data about where the candidates’ funds come from:
Our top picks from the site: “Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2008″ and “Banking on Becoming President.”