By Birmingham News editorial board

May 13, 2010, 5:45AM

Here, courtesy of Thomas Jefferson, is further proof our Founding Fathers got this whole representative democracy experiment right:

"We might hope to see the finances of the Union as clear and intelligible as a merchant's books, so that every member of Congress and every man of any mind in the Union should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abuses, and consequently to control them."

It's a nearly extinct virtue when it comes to who is behind many campaign advertisements.  A simple warning to voters as Alabama's election season kicks into high gear: Groups identified in the disclaimers may not be who they portray themselves as.