As part of his potential excuse to go back on his promise of accepting public financing, Barack Obama argues that some sort-of “parallel system” has been established by receiving donations from plenty of small donors. While it’s true Obama has many small donors on his side, he hasn’t exactly done bad in the area of big bundlers, either.

But those with wealth and power also have played a critical role in creating Obama’s record-breaking fundraising machine, and their generosity has earned them a prominent voice in shaping his campaign. Seventy-nine “bundlers,” five of them billionaires, have tapped their personal networks to raise at least $200,000 each. They have helped the campaign recruit more than 27,000 donors to write checks for $2,300, the maximum allowed. Donors who have given more than $200 account for about half of Obama’s total haul, which stands at nearly $240 million…

The bundler list also sheds light on those who might seek to influence an Obama White House. It includes traditional Democratic givers — Hollywood, trial lawyers and Wall Street — and newcomers such as young hedge fund executives, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Chicago-based developers and members of the black business elite. One-third had never contributed to a presidential campaign, much less raised money.

The list includes partners from 18 top law firms, 21 Wall Street executives and power brokers from Fortune 500 companies. California is the top source, with 19 bundlers. Both Illinois and Washington, D.C., have six, and five hail from New York.

Among the big donors is Kenneth Griffin, a 39-year-old billionaire who just hired a team of lobbyists to persuade Congress to keep a tax loop-hole firmly in place. Employees of Griffin’s Chicago-based hedge fun, Citadel Investment Group, were responsible for raising ~$200,000 for Obama’s campaign.

Several on Obama’s list at least appear to have interests in conflict with his platform. There is the billionaire casino developer who plans to put a slot parlor in Philadelphia; Obama has decried gambling for its steep “moral and social cost.” And there is the director of General Dynamics, the military supplier that has seen profits soar since the onset of the Iraq war and that has benefited from at least one Obama earmark…

Chicago offered more opportunities. Obama knew he could count on longtime supporters in the African American business community, such as his wife’s friend, Desiree Rogers, head of the Peoples Gas utility. Her ex-husband, John W. Rogers, the head of Ariel Capital Management, is also a bundler.

A $1,000-a-person fundraiser that Desiree Rogers hosted in January attracted 600 people and spilled over to a neighbor’s apartment. Obama repeated his pitch three times, she said.

At least one other Chicago bundler owns a large stake in a military contracting company, which has been the recipient of $1.3 million+ Obama earmark. The above are just a few examples of large donors, bundlers, and potentially controversial connections.

Strange, this “new politics” seems a whole lot like “old politics”.