How to Become a Top Banana

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That's easy. It's the President, many members of Congress and the Democratic and Republican parties--all of whom have milked the war for millions of dollars in campaign contributions--along with the lobbyists who abetted the process.

A final note. While Lindner had many areas of political interest beyond his battle with the European Union, a partial accounting of the flow of his dollars during the Great Banana War--as measured by contributions of $1,000 or more--as well as lobbying expenditures on the war, shows:

Republicans--$4.2 million

Democrats--$1.4 million

Washington lobbyists--$1.5 million

That's more money than a business like Rick Reinert's will earn in a lifetime.

--With reporting by Laura Karmatz and Andrew Goldstein and research by Joan Levinstein

First in a series of Investigative Reports on campaign finance