Are Campaigns too Costly?

George Will discussed the price tag attached to this years presidential campaigns as McCain has attempted to discredit Obama's campaign because of the large amounts of money being donated and the offer of public financing he declined. 

I think this is the best summary of the situation to date: 

"The Center for Responsive Politics calculates that, by Election Day, $2.4 billion will have been spent on presidential campaigns in the two-year election cycle that began in January 2007, and an additional $2.9 billion will have been spent on 435 House and 35 Senate contests. This $5.3 billion is a billion less than Americans will spend this year on potato chips."