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At the time, he was widely deemed an obstructionist, a false prophet for the reform movement. In the interim, however, the House passed the Shays-Meehan bill, and by Tuesday afternoon, Hutchinson was proclaiming himself a convert.

Standing on the Senate lawn and flanked by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., Hutchinson offered support for the stripped-down Senate version of the legislation, which focuses on banning what McCain described as the "most egregious thing" in the world of political money: the unlimited and unregulated soft money that parties and advocacy groups can spend almost without limit.

Hutchinson explained that he hadn't changed his position, but that the bill itself had changed, allowing him to come on board.

"I thought [Shays-Meehan] went too far," Hutchinson said. "I congratulate Sens. McCain and Feingold for their straightforward ban on soft money. It minimizes the objections and maximizes the chances for passage in this Congress."

Or, as Feingold put it, stripping the bill down to a ban on soft money gives Republican senators "a reason to vote for it and nowhere to hide." McCain noted that if he had learned anything from his fight against the tobacco companies, it was that, "if you allow 'perfect' to be the enemy of 'good,' then you're doomed to failure."

"Rep. Hutchinson's endorsement is significant because he has his own campaign finance reform proposal and although I don't agree with all of it, it was a serious proposal that dealt with the major issues of soft money and issue ads," Feingold said.

Hutchinson's move was significant not only because he was active in trying to defeat the House version of the legislation, but also because many observers see his endorsement as a ploy to influence his older brother, Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., whose position on the McCain-Feingold bill is still unknown.

McCain and Feingold need 60 senators to end any filibuster and support a vote on "cloture," a final vote on the bill. Lucky number 60 was McCain-Feingold's big obstacle in its last go-round, when only 52 senators supported the measure on Feb 26, 1998. McCain and Feingold need eight more votes.

The elder Hutchinson is one of a dozen or so senators whom McCain and Feingold have been lobbying, including Republicans Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Mike DeWine and George Voinovich of Ohio and Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois.

Next page | ACLU: McCain-Feingold is against free speech