From my own experience in running for the United States Senate against Pat Moynihan, I can tell you that the toughest part of any campaign is raising money. It is particularly difficult when, as in my case, winning is really next to impossible. New York politics provides little comfort for candidates perceived to be in the loss column. The pragmatism of New York elections causes the cash to flow to the people who are expected to win.

As the campaigns wind down this year, the talking heads on TV will all be continuing the cry for campaign finance reform¬but whose reform? Democrats want to continue labor funding for issue-oriented ads which blast Republicans. Republicans and Democrats want the "soft" corporate money to continue. Republicans do not want much to change with regard to individual races, because they hold the majority in both the House and the Senate.

One way out of this quagmire of uncertainty would be to have former presidents Bush and Carter head up a commission on changes in campaign financing. Add to the commission representatives of the Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate and put the commission in a fish bowl of public scrutiny. Giving the commission one year to work out a compromise, a solution to campaign financing reform might be possible.

As the law now stands, wealthy individuals have a distinct advantage in running for political office. Because of the "free speech" concept in our Constitution, they can spend unlimited amounts in a political contest. The save "free speech" argument also lets labor unions and others run unlimited numbers of issue-oriented ads. When it comes to free speech, fairness is not an issue!

And that brings me to the media. While admittedly the New York metropolitan area has hundreds of candidates at the local, state and federal levels, most candidates get little attention¬if any¬by the regional media. In other parts of the country, any member of Congress, Assemblyman or Senator, may have one to four daily papers in his or her district. As a result, the print and electronic media can give significant coverage to incumbents and challengers.

On Long Island, News 12 gives each candidate an opportunity to debate. And Newsday does cover each district race. But, while their efforts deserve praise, one debate and one story does not provide the kind of coverage to permit intelligent choices.

Something has to be done. Coupled with an electorate turned off on the political process, campaign finance reform needs the Solomon approach that a Carter-Bush commission could energize. Democracy requires citizen participation and that participation continues to languish while stridency and campaign dollars constantly churn.