Politics

Follow PBS NewsHour’s complete coverage of politics, Congress, the Supreme court and the presidency.

Recent campaign finance reforms have made it harder for political parties to spend soft money. Margaret Warner looks at the political committees called 527s, which have become popular conduits for campaign cash.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean endorsed his one time rival Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at a rally in Washington today. Margaret Warner speaks with Dean about the endorsement and his differences with Kerry.

The European Union fined Microsoft more than $600 million yesterday for antitrust violations, and it ordered the software giant to take steps to allow more competition in the operating-systems market. Ray Suarez looks at the impact of the ruling.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today over whether the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance violates the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Gwen Ifill discusses the case with National Law Journal Washington bureau chief Marcia…