Long criticized as a toothless tiger since its creation in 1975, right after the Watergate scandal, the Federal Election Commission is looking to improve "transparency, fairness and efficiency" in the way it applies and enforces campaign finance laws and regulations.

The agency says it plans to hold a self-improvement hearing on Jan. 14 at its offices (999 E. Street N.W., 9th floor).

Over the years, the FEC has gained a well-deserved reputation for taking forever and a day to get things done -- everything from campaign audits, issuing fines, analyzing reports and so on. Bob Bauer, a veteran campaign finance lawyer who serves as counsel to Obama for America and the Democratic Senatorial and Congressional Campaign Committees, sees the FEC's decision aimed at self-improvement as "a highly constructive step,'' as he writes in his blog, "More Soft Money Hard Law."

"In many ways, the agency operates under a strange procedure not designed with much emphasis on 'transparency, fairness and efficiency,''' he writes. "Improvements over time have helped...more improvement is certainly possible."

                                                                                                          -- Edward T. Pound