The Times profiles White House Bob Bauer this morning.

Advocates of campaign finance reform have not always been big fans of Mr. Bauer, who took a dim view of the 2002 McCain-Feingold Law, which barred political parties from receiving unregulated “soft money” contributions. But once the law passed, colleagues say, Mr. Bauer quickly found a way to exploit it by helping so-called 527 groups to flourish using soft money of their own.

“McCain-Feingold created the loophole, which Bob drove a Mack truck through,” said Ben Ginsberg, who represents Republicans on campaign finance matters. “It was pioneering work and robust free speech when his clients needed an outlet besides the parties.”