*Describe the significance of money in a modern presidential election campaign. How does the government regulate the fund-rasiing and expenditures of presidential campaigns? Is the government regulation adequate? Explain

Nowadays, money is one of the most important aspects of a candidate's campaign. Campaigns require a lot of staff from counsels and managers, to people who are needed to just stamp the envelopes. Not to mention, the travel expenses for flying/driving all over the country. But perhaps the costliest demand of a competitive campaigner is the advertisements.

However, the government has taken a special interest in campaign spending and has begun to create limitations since the 1970's. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 has established a few different regulations such as the Federal Election Commission and the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. With the help of a few more regulations, the act has created a more restricted and fair election system. On the contrary, people have found loopholes within the system which sometimes tampers with the adequacy of the restrictions. For example, in 1979 the use of soft money tip-toed around the disclosure requirement and was quickly resolved by the McCain- Feingold Act 2002; an act that clarified the limitations. All in all, regulating elections is a good idea for fairness and the requirements have created a more equal opportunity. But like most things in the world, it isn't going to be perfect and people will manipulate the system.