The great bundle: Wall Street’s biggest losers this week among McCain and Obama’s biggest supporters

It’s called a “bundle,” and it’s a wad of campaign cash collected by a supporter’s friends, family members and associates and delivered in one lump sum to the candidate as a gift from the supporter. According to a story today on Capital Eye, at OpenSecrets.org, McCain’s 69 bundlers have donated at least $11.4 million to his campaign, making the investment industry his number one source for top bundlers, and the employees of Merrill-Lynch his biggest bundlers. John Thain of now-Bank of America-owned Merrill Lynch bundled $500,000 for McCain, and James Forbes between $100,000 and $250,000. Andrew Malik of now-bankrupt Lehman Bros. bundled between $50,000 and $100,000 for McCain.

Lawyers and law firms make up Obama’s main source for bundlers. His number one bundling buddy is Goldman Sachs, while executives at Lehman Bros and Credit Suisse also have handed over bundles to his campaign.

Who says Washington–and and lack of transparency–can’t be bought?