Unless you're a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois being stalked by your Republican rival.

For the past 10 days, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama hasn't been able to go to the bathroom or talk to his wife on his cell phone without having a camera-toting political gofer from his Republican rival filming a few feet away.

In what has to be a first in Illinois politics, Republican Jack Ryan has assigned one of his campaign workers to record every movement and every word of the state senator while he is in public.

That means Justin Warfel, armed with a handheld Panasonic digital camcorder, follows Obama to the bathroom door and waits outside. It means Warfel follows Obama as he moves from meeting to meeting in the Capitol. And it means Warfel tails Obama when he drives to his campaign office.

A look at a lobbyist coalitions peddling influence on Washington policymakers. It is a lucrative living, at least for Mr. Joel Malina.

Molina says he charges $30,000 a month plus expenses to run a coalition. And more often than not, he asserts, the money is well worth it. Unfortunately, he warns, unlike the plays he's performed in, "there is no guarantee of a happy ending."

How Ahmed Chalabi conned the neocons examines this shadowy figure and his neoconservative allies.