The American Leadership Project is back. This pro-Hillary Clinton group is a 527 – one of those independent nonprofits notorious for skirting campaign finance law – and now it’s targeting John McCain with a new ad. The ALP’s latest: “More Money, More Problems,” warning that McCain’s energy plan will bring “more money for Big Oil” and more problems for average Americans. The price tag for these ads? More than $75,000, according to the group’s FEC filings.

This is the same 527 the Center examined in March as part of The Buying of the President 2008. The story observed that five of the six individuals who gave $10,000 or more to the committee had also given the legal maximum — $4,600 — to the Clinton campaign.

Throughout the primary campaign Barack Obama spoke out against 527s and other independent committees spending big bucks to influence the race. But now that McCain is the target, will Obama feel so strongly?

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