Obama rejects public financing
Barack Obama has announced that his campaign will not use public financing and that he will fight the general election purely on funds that he manages to raise from the general public.
The McCain campaign, knowing that Obama can raise much more than McCain ever could, have gone barmy:
McCain's campaign charged that the decision shows Obama is just another politician.As this has never been done before, as this will be the first ever presidential bid funded purely by active supporters, where does McCain get off saying that this "undermines his call for a new kind of politics"?
"Today, Barack Obama has revealed himself to be just another typical politician who will do and say whatever is most expedient for Barack Obama," McCain campaign communications director Jill Hazelbaker said in a statement. "The true test of a candidate for president is whether he will stand on principle and keep his word to the American people. Barack Obama has failed that test today, and his reversal of his promise to participate in the public finance system undermines his call for a new type of politics."
Doing something in the political arena for the first time is the definition of a "new kind of politics".
And Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, has said that the McCain team were negotiating in bad faith:
"In the past couple of weeks, our campaign counsels met and it was immediately clear that McCain's campaign had no interest in the possibility of an agreement," Burton said. "When asked about the RNC's months of raising and spending for the general election, McCain's campaign could only offer its expectation that the Obama campaign would probably, sooner or later, catch up. And shortly thereafter, Senator McCain signaled to the 527s that they were free to run wild, without objection."There's a wonderful comment over at Balloon Juice where Emma Anne states, "They’re pissed that a Dem won’t unilaterally disarm. They’ve grown accustomed to it."
That's it in a nutshell.
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2 comments:
Obama never promised to forgo public financing. He instead promised to negotiate with McCain on the parameters of the election campaign.
Ironically, McCain is trapped in public financing because he accepted it to keep his primary campaign going. He's been trying his best to get out of it for months now. He can't get out of until after the convention.
The Republicans have consistently distorted Obama's "new politics". It never meant "turning the other cheek" when you are attacked. It meant a bottom-up campaign in contrast to the top-down style of the GOP. It meant eschewing beating his head against the Maginot Line of the "battleground states", and instead going around them to win an equivalent number of electoral votes in other states. And it meant giving up on the 527 groups to attack on his behalf while keeping his own hands clean.
It's 21st century campaign, while McCain is fighting with a 1950's strategy.
Todd, I agree that Obama never made the promise which McCain is now claiming he broke. And I especially agree that McCain is fighting a 1950's campaign while Obama fights a 21st century one.
Obama has truly engaged in a new kind of politics, which is what is driving Republicans nuts. They are used to Democrats fighting according to their game plan. I am personally delighted that Obama has thrown out their rule book.
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