Political forces, coupled with the putative relationship between soft money, issue advocacy and several core constitutional values, have made McCain-Feingold among the most controversial bills facing Congress. This paper uses a unique source of data about television commercials to examine some of the most important issues raised in connection to this proposal. It is appropriate that it focuses on television advertising since it is the largest--and most discussed--single category of expenditures by candidates, parties and interest groups in federal elections.