HALPERIN'S TAKE ON 527s

John McCain disavowed this positive ad run on his behalf, but when will a shadowy group run a negative spot against a candidate? Strategists for all the major campaigns have said for several weeks that they expect there to be tens of millions of dollars spent in Iowa and other early voting states by various 527s and other interest groups on ads attacking just about everyone. Monday's New York Times has some sketchy details about who might pull the trigger, but, so far, nothing has materialized. And time is running short. It is hard to imagine such ads running over Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's. And the airwaves are going to be packed with positive ads for and by the candidates themselves, making buying time that much more complicated. And who, exactly, would donate to these groups? Liberals who want to stop Hillary Clinton? Conservatives who want to stop Hillary Clinton? FOBs and FOHs who want to help Hillary Clinton? Wealthy religious conservatives who want to stop Rudy Giuliani? (Insert your own Dennis Kucinich or Mitt Romney joke here.) Maybe the biggest question of all, though, is this: Is the still-influential Old Media ready to scrutinize the content and sources of these ads, or will things move way too fast for that?