Last week, reporters seized on a detail revealed in FEC filings: John Edwards gets $400 haircuts. The story reinforces what a lot of us think about politicians - that they raise too much money and that they waste most of it on extravagant luxuries.

But the truth is that, while the candidates may splurge on a few indulgences while on the campaign trail, they don't keep the money they raise nor do they spend most of it on themselves. Where does most of that money go? To television stations.

In competitive races, between 50 and 60 percent of a campaign budget goes to 30-second spots. 30-second spots that make broadcasters rich, but too often leave our democracy poorer.

$2.1 billion was spent on political ads in 2006. Experts say the presidential candidates alone could spend $1 billion on ads this cycle. But you won't hear that story in the mainstream media. They'd much rather you focus on a silly haircut than their massive profiteering on our publicly-owned airwaves.