In the run-up to yesterday's primary contest in Pennsylvania, candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama aired a series of negative ads accusing the other of being too closely connected with lobbyists, big corporations, and political action committees (PACs). According to Harris Interactive data, these are the three entities most consistently described by Americans as having "too much influence on government policy, politicians, and policymakers in Washington." In Harris's most recent poll, "big companies" topped the list (86 percent of Americans felt they had "too much influence"), followed by PACs (83 percent), and political lobbyists (80 percent). At the bottom of Harris's list were small businesses, which only 4 percent of Americans thought had "too much influence." Minorities of Americans also felt that way about public opinion (20 percent), nonprofits (23 percent), racial minorities (33 percent), and churches and religious groups (40 percent). And opinion polls? Forty-four percent told Harris they had too much influence. Source: Harris Interactive, February 2008.