Fred Thompson today said his major break with conservatives over the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, which he supported and most conservatives vehemently opposed, was a result of the Clintons.

"What happened was the Clintons," he told the Club for Growth, saying he was reacting to the phenomenal success of Bill Clinton and his then-adviser Dick Morris, who perfected the formula for raising "soft money" to help Democrats compete with Republicans in the 1990s.

Mr. Thompson was one of the major proponents of the new rules but now calls that "a mistake," though he still defends the concept of banning parties from raising soft money. He says the rules, written in large part by one of his Republican rivals, Sen. John McCain, have gone too far in limiting interest groups.

Speaking to the same group earlier in the day, Rudy Giuliani also said he regretted his support for the McCain-Feingold rules, saying instead of limits the system should promote transparency.

-- Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times