Obama's lawyer dominates Democratic money machine

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By Matthew Mosk

In the heat of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, when members of candidate Barack Obama's staff began to fret about the potential for illegal attempts to intimidate voters on Election Day in Nevada, the campaign's general counsel calmly told everyone on a staff conference call to settle down.

Don't worry, lawyer Robert Bauer is said to have counseled. If necessary, the campaign will simply call the local authorities and have the opposition forces arrested.

That wasn't really Mr. Bauer's plan, of course. But the dose of bravado became such a rallying point, campaign staffers printed up T-shirt's with the quote, "We may have to have some people arrested" on the back. On the front it read, "I ♥ Bob Bauer."

There were many Washington insiders who saw their stars rise with Mr. Obama's election 10 months ago. But few have soared as high or shone as brightly as Mr. Bauer.

Long a leading voice on campaign finance law, the trim, bearded, 57-year-old has since January established a near-monopoly over the Democratic Party's election law franchise. In addition to the representation by his law firm, Perkins Coie, of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Mr. Bauer serves as chief counsel to the Democratic National Committee and as the president's private attorney.

Where Mr. Bauer will lead the party in coming years could help shape the future of how federal campaigns are paid for, how elections are organized, and whether the troubled presidential public financing system will survive.

Mr. Bauer would not consent to an interview for this article. Mr. Obama recently issued an informal edict advising his staff not to assist with profiles. But numerous election lawyers who have battled alongside and against Mr. Bauer say they have no doubt where he will lead the Democratic Party on such matters: in whichever direction best suits the Democrats' political interests.

In the close-knit community of campaign finance lawyers, most practitioners are purists known either as reformers trying to diminish the influential role of money on the political process or constitutionalists who believe campaign cash is a form of free speech that should remain free of government restrictions.

Mr. Bauer does not fall neatly into either category.

"He is a flexible advocate," said Scott Thomas, a former Federal Election Commission chairman. "On behalf of his clients over time, he has been for soft money and against it. He has been for public financing and against it."