Townhall and others have been on this for some time, but now MSM CBS News brings it up--why earmarks are a BAD idea--however admirable the intention, they do not receive the same amount of scrutiny other appropriations do, and they can lead to corruption of public officials. Video here, via the NRCC. In case you missed it, The Pig Book is out for 2008. One more note for the presidential campaign. Hillary one of the top earmarkers in the Senate. Senator John McCain has requested zero. And Barack Obama has a very mixed record, written up by a liberal-leaning columnist from the Chicago Sun Times:

Instead, since I have some reporting history here, I am noting a pattern that has emerged: This is Obama's third ethical conversion of convenience -- taking on a higher standard, but only when it appears to be politically expedient. Obama is making government transparency and ethics a centerpiece of his presidential campaign.

Of course the earmark moratorium failed in the Senate, as not enough Republicans signed on. This is a key issue for the general election--many fiscally conservative Republicans became disaffected when their elected representatives went on a spending binge and abandoned small-government principles--that is one of the main reasons Republicans lost the majority.

It's a signature issue for McCain, and a winning one.