Obama rejects public financing

I wonder if St. McCain will do the same...i think not.

Interesting how he emphasizes he'll forego the public financing. He forgets to mention he has more money privately.

What a sham. What a complete and utter fraud.

That's the change we can believe in. Just a standard politician engaging in the usual promises given, promises broken.

The system is the same as it was when he made the commitment to abide by public financing lst year. He says he supports public financing. I guess that his positions are only solid when they benefit him.

Obama's a typical phony politician from the Daley Machine.

Obama is just trying to hide the fact that fat cats from moveon and Hollywood have contributed the most money to his campaign.

He's a different kind of politician. Yeah, right.....what has he done in the last six months that isn't typical of a Washington insider?

Good! I couldn't be happier. Nothing levels a playing field like money, eh? And, with so many unregulated surrogates on the Right, and their propensity to play fast and loose with the truth in their quest to win at all costs, girding one's loins with that which fights back best is the best possible path to take.

With his donors consisting only of proud Americans of all stripes, Obama's campaign, for once, is truly the people's campaign.

Rev. William Hayashi

There should be 0 (ZERO) public financing. My tax dollars should not be helping any millionaires run for President. Congratulations for Obama allowing the private sector to pay for his election! NO PUBLIC FINANCING EVER! Donations should be allowed ONLY from private individuals and have caps. No donations from Unions, PACs, businesses or lobbyists.

This isn't really news, I don't think anyone thought he'd fulfill his earlier promise. Words, without any honor, are just words. I'm supreised he didn't just say he misspoke and wasn't aware he had made the promise or that it was misinterpretted. Or try to change the focus - "leave my wife alone" (you know, trying to look tough, manly - which is a challenge for him)

The first campaign promise broken and its only June. Just wait to see the "change" if he gets elected. Same story different chapter.

Is there a more wiser move than this? He will get a ton of money.

He hzs a habit of going back on his word. Another reason we don't need someone like him as president.

Is this another example of hypocrisy?

I support a robust system of campaign reform, but I will want others to do it, not me. What does that even mean? If he supports it, why is he not using it? Do say it, if you don't follow thru with it. Typical Obama hollow rhetroic.

I say good for Obama!!! I find it incredible that the McCain camp wants to criticize him for NOT wanting to accept money from special interest groups.Are they nuts? Shows how the GOP is not behind McCain, doesn't it?

Obama never misses a chance to continue his dirty underhanded smears of running his campaign. I am so tired of all this when will we ever have clean issue related campaigns? This man is so back alley politics I hope the voters wake up before it is too late. The back alley campaigning is the same way we can expect him to run this country if he is elected.

You mis-characterize his earlier statement regarding public financing. He said he would discuss equitable financing with the eventual nominee of the other party. Republicans have had more money in every election in modern times. Also, the RNC already has so much more money than the DNC that any lead Obama has in funding his campaign is negated. Good decision. If you're going to a knife fight, you gotta bring a weapon

Honesty and integrity is what Obama is all about!
I wonder how the economy would be if instead of all these people donating money (to both candidates and formerly to Clinton) spent it on themselves or for other things. I think we are getting close to half a billion dollars spent on private planes and stupid attack ads.

HaHa
I see what he means when he says "Change you can count on"...that is change your position when it benefits you and your campaign.

HaHa
I see what he means when he says "Change you can count on"...that is change your position when it benefits you and your campaign.

Jenny: I don't think you really understand what exactly Obama is doing. He's forgoing public financing so that he can collect money from special interests and his fat cat Hollywood friends. What it means to you? It means that if Obama is ever elected, he'll be serving the interest of these people. The other thing that is worth mentioning is that Obama now shows his true character: a liar who broke his promises BEFORE he was even elected. Just imagine what he would do if he elected.

Are you people kidding me? I realize this is a republican talking point, but that's all it is. The reasoning is clearly justified when you have the 527 groups running rampant on the republican side.

Obama clearly has said to his supporters that they should NOT donate to the democratic side 527s.

If that's not CLEAR and HONORABLE I don't know what is.

Just another politician that will do and say whatever to get himself elected as President. I'd rather have a war hero like McCain who has sacrificed much for his country than someone like Obama who has never "bled" for his country. Yup....the only change I see is in Obama....his true colors are coming out....not much of a difference between him and Clinton...

I swear, some of you are so blinded by partisanship, you can't see a good, positive decision based on fairness and transparency if it hit you square on the nose.

Advanced leadership is about making choices based on the realities on the ground, not based on dogmatism and ideology. Dogmatism and ideology in the white house is what has brought us to this terrible point we are at now.

When his opponent McCain dishonorably does not tell his people to avoid the 527 attack groups, he is behaving dishonorably. Did Obama have a choice based on McCain's side-mouthed treachery? NO.

Obama is the candidate most representing the change from the dishonesty flourishing in the McCain campaign.

"I'm going to game the system for all it's worth just because I can; but when elected, I will fix the system so that everyone else will have no choice but do what I haven't done."

Not just your typical, run-of-the-mill politician, that Obama.

No, he's as unctuous and sleazy as they come.

No-bama!

I have no problem with Obama using money that I've donated (and will continue to donate in the future) as opposed to lobbying groups that he'll have to cater to in the future.

Obama decides to do what is best for him and not the process. That is the same old election tactic, from the same old type of politician. Now that is change you can believe in.

His campaign is being publicly financed, by millions of Americans like me.

Obama can not even go through the election before he goes back on his word.
Change we can believe in?

Flip flop!! Obama does that well, doesn't he?
Obama is a merchant of change? Nope, he is a merchant of the rotten, dirty, grimy, corrupt Illinois Democratic machine.
And, isn't Frank James sweet as to how nice he is reporting this. Somehow, if this was McCain who backflipped on the public financing vow, McCain would be hammered by Frank James and the rest of the mainstream media in the bag for Obama. And the Swamp posters from the Left would be having a colossal cow if McCain did that.

Obama has broken his word.

His fans can try to deny it, but the evidence is clear.

This is from the Washington Post Fact Checker -
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/the_obama_pledge.html

...The [Obama] campaign went even further in answers to a questionnaire sent to the various political campaigns in September 2007 by the Midwest Democracy Network. The questionnaire posed a very simple question to the candidates: "If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?"

You can read Obama's response here. The candidate highlighted the simple answer "Yes" and elaborated as follows:

In February 2007, I proposed a novel way to preserve the strength of the public financing system in the 2008 election. My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general election. My proposal followed announcements by some presidential candidates that they would forgo public financing so they could raise unlimited funds in the general election. The Federal Election Commission ruled the proposal legal, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.

Some change, same ole, same ole!

What an utter fraud Obama is. Says one thing and does another. He will do anything to win. Except secure my vote!

I don't understand why this is being portrayed as a bad thing. I think it is great that he is not financing his campaign with public money and I think McCain should do the same. I don't understand why he would've been pressured in the first place to agree to use public funds if his opponent did. I think is a much better position to take.

I would think that a politician opting out of using public money would be a good thing to a Republican...

And if you look at the fact that he has record numbers of small, individual donors (not "special interests and fat cat Hollywood friends" as Ryan stated above), I think that would be something to champion as well.

I would like to see the playing field leveled, but that won't happen with the 527's, so I agree with his change in position. So, Obama gets his private funds and McCain gets his wife's private jet. Seems fair.

What are you talking about Obama has many many 527s on his side

Are you people kidding me? I realize this is a republican talking point, but that's all it is. The reasoning is clearly justified when you have the 527 groups running rampant on the republican side.

Obama clearly has said to his supporters that they should NOT donate to the democratic side 527s.

If that's not CLEAR and HONORABLE I don't know what is.

Posted by: Joe | June 19, 2008 10:33 AM

The way I read this is that he can now spend as much as he wants with no restrictions. There must be an awful lot of money to be made by winning the presidency; not only by Obama but by his backers. What happens to the campaign money he does not accept from the government? Could it be used to pay back the loans from social security?

good for Barack, at least he isn't going to take being Swiftboated lying down. McCain doesn't stand a chance and everyone knows it, but Americans are a gullible bunch and they'll believe anything the corporate media tells them. this way Obama can fight off the attacks and maybe real Americans can send a message to Washington and the firmly entrenched neocon power structure.

Another reason for me not to feel bad for crossing over and voting for McCain.......McCain 08 *sigh*

LOL some of the comments in here are so funny. Hey, readers...do you realize that RIGHT NOW there are right-wing think tanks who have little interns in suits and ties, their only job being to post stupid campaign bumper-sticker comments in threads just like these?

I don't believe for one second that there are 2000 Americans in the country who would base their vote in November on the topic of campaign finance reform and the acceptance of public or private money. The election system in our country is gamed and at least Obama is smart enough not to put on handcuffs before the fight. Hopefully he will do the right thing in office and strength public campaign financing, that is a small topic for another day.

My vote will be based on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the trampling of the Constitution of the US, and the bleeding of our economy to benefit the robber barons of the new Gilded Age. McCain doesn't stand a chance, regardless of the pithy whining of well-scrubbed interns.

Go Obama!

I like how people are complaining about him flip flopping as if this decision were bad. If he had claimed he was going to start using chocolate coins for currency and then decided not to, you'd still complain about flip flopping.

By the way, cutesy catchphrases like "Nobama" aren't really that clever (that goes for lefties too, though).

It is amazing to me how many Republican supporters treat this political process like a game; choosing a side just because he wears the team logo. As a result, they parrot talking points without even bothering to look on surface.

Look at some significant metrics that impact most citizens livelihoods: gas prices, average household income, deaths of sons and daughters in the armed forces, reserves, and the guard, size of the national deficit, etc. -- each has gotten significantly worse.

Yet, because you want your TEAM to win, you will parrot the talking points without question.

This is not a sport!

The Obama campaign has raised campaign funds from millions of ordinary Americans, by their choice, and it has demonstrated the viability of a new way of funding campaigns. The need to pander to large special interests to fund the campaigns is eliminated. I think this has become evident to everyone, even the REPUBLICAN team, and it scares them.

As a result, they are crying flip-flop like little kids trying to tease or dare someone into doing something that's counter to the interests they represent.

If McCain had been wildly successful raising money this way, he would have made the same decision.

Look at the flip-flops that BOTH candidates do in terms of the substance of the related issue. We want leaders who, when given more information, are flexible enough to consider a different approach instead of dogmatically sticking to something they said to "save face" and avoid the childhood taunts of their opponents.

So typical. I knew Barack was going to do this. Hooray for the Obama Express -- the media-inspired, limousine liberal-funded machine is running at full steam! Everyone knows "the system" is broken -- we don't need Obama telling us this. But he had the opportunity here to change -- to show some courage and set a good example. How noble would he have seemed if had rejected all his private moneys and accepted the public funds? He wants to win at all costs. That's fine, but I just want to hear him say it -- enough with the change business. I don't think he is as selfless, or as different from other politicians, as he would have Americans believe.

What do you call the money unions take from the pay of workers give to the Obama campaign or use to pay people to campaign for him?

Obama never keeps his word. He is a fraud.

Flip-flop? What Obama said was that he would agree to limit himself to the use of the alloted public financing if the presumptive Republican nominee did the same. I haven't heard McCain's camp do any such thing! I haven't heard McClain make any kind of declaration NOT to use money and/or endorsements from lobbyists, PACs, etc.

Now, if Obama had foolishly, unequivocally stated that he was limiting himself to the use of public financing and later, realizing his error, decided not to, THEN we could start talking about broken promises. But, that's not what happened here. In this case, Obama's statement was conditional and McCain's camp did not meet the condition. Where's the flip-flop?

Obama breaks another promise and becomes the first candidate since the post Watergate finance laws were enacted in the 1970's to not take federal financing for his campaign for President. Obama now comes across as a typical Old Time Chicago Politician that will buy an election. The question now is with all this outside money coming to Obama, who owns him? This is not the fresh new face of change that he portrays himself as. It is old fashion politics as usual Chicago style.

Forget where the money is coming from and put yourself in his position for a minute. He can take 80 million dollars under the guidelines or use 250 million that he's already accumulated....hmmmm. Some may call it flip-flopping...I call it common sense.

One thing my father and I agreed with Ronald Regan: Check the no box for the Presidential Campaign Fund on your income tax return.

I also agree that Obama has been somewhat hypocritical about this. On the other hand, who should know how to use McCain Feinberg better than McCain?

Chgosaint wrote: "There should be 0 (ZERO) public financing. My tax dollars should not be helping any millionaires run for President"

The problem with this position is that ONLY millionaires (or friends of millionaires) can afford to run for presidents. Public financing (and its restrictions) is one way to make politics an even playing field. Obama, by declining public financing will put himself in a position where he'll be obligated to pay his millionaire friends back when he gets into office. On a side note, of course, not anybody can qualified to receive public financing. There is a host of criteria that must be met before public financing is available.

The point is that this is just an example of typical politics, and Obama is a typical politician.

Aside from the presentation, there is nothing different with the Obama package.

He is a Cook County Democrat, and thus a greedy power junkie who basks in the adulation of his followers while chomping at the bit to be hit by all the money that they are eager to throw at him.

Inevitably (albeit perhaps indirectly) a fair amount of that money is going to end up in his bank accounts.

(Who knows what Scarlett Johansson is throwing?)

The only reason right wingers are so criticall of Obama is because they know he is going to win. It is a tactic that they use when they have nothing good to say about thier candididate. Tear the other candidate down. Now that they know they are going to lose they will use every derogatory name they can think of, they will stoop to lying cheating and stealing, and they will do things behind the scenes that most people would consider appalling. We have seen it with the Bush administration and the McCain campaign will stop at nothing less. That is what Republicans do.

Obama IS NOT a reformer!
Obama IS a DALEY HACK!

There isn't anything "typical" about this decision. As the the piece stated Senator Obama is the first to not accept the public funds since their implementation in 1976. His reasoning is logical and clesr. The current system is tainted and flawed. He is doing what he has done throughout the campaign, stay on message. I do beleive that once he is in office he will change these laws so that thye become less tainted and more equitable. In a perfect world campaigns would be ENTIRELY funded with public funds with no strings attached. Today is not that day.

Would you expect anything else from a Cook County Hack politician. When someone alligns themselves with Daley, Stroger, Balgoevich and the mafia controlled Alexi G. THis is not change this is the same old same old. I guess change only applies to others. This is a new low in a very unethical candidate that is the Obama campaign. Do some research on Axelrod and the Chicago Machine and you will see this is no surprise. Russert actually attacked him for his failure to keep his word. If a politician can not even keep his word than how can he be trusted.

Yawn, looks like he's evening the playing field to me.

I can understand why Republicans/conservatives would want to use this as ammo, but I'm baffled how those claiming to be Democrats/liberals are "forced" to vote for McCain because of this. Totally losing site of the real issues at stake during this election. A quick reminder:
1. SUPREME COURT
2. Iraq
3. Health Care
4. Education
5. Economy

Let real issues decide your vote, not petty crap like this.

This is the man that is going to give "Hope" to the people and "change". Same BS he's been feeding the public in Illinois over the years. He will do whatever it takes to get in.

The Audacity that he has to say Republicans are masters at working around the system.

He and his political spin masters are the ones that are going to spin the campaign treasury he has into a web that will catch him in all his lies.

Obama is such a polotician that lies and his followers and the press just love him so much they dismiss it. All in the name of getting their darling into office. What Zombies!

"FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSIONER SPEAKS"

I'M GETTING FIRED, DON'T ASK ME FOR HELP!
A DEAL IS A NO DEAL WHEN THE DEAL IS A NO DEAL!
I'M GETTING FIRED, DON'T ASK ME FOR HELP!
YOU KNOW NEED MEMO THIS TIME, YOU NEED MAMA'S MONEY!
BITTE EIN BUD JOHN JOHN!
I'M GETTING FIRED, DON'T ASK ME FOR HELP!
THIS BUD'S FOR YOU!

wait.. people actually want to use their money (tax dollars) to help rich people get elected? what? when did i miss this?

i, for one, don't want my tax dollars to be used.

i also want caps on donations. I put in $25. its not a fair election if my neighbor can contribute $25K, no matter what side he's on.

1. no tax dollars
2. donation limits
3. no corporate/group donations (individuals only) and only 1 donation

seems fair to me.

Barack Obama said he was for public financing of his campaign before he was against it.

The man is incapable of holding to his pledged word.

Forget where the money is coming from and put yourself in his position for a minute. He can take 80 million dollars under the guidelines or use 250 million that he's already accumulated....hmmmm. Some may call it flip-flopping...I call it common sense.

Posted by: Brad | June 19, 2008 12:14 PM

Brad, you are absolutely right, and anyone who thinks otherwise is painfully naive. My question is why can't Obama just be honest about it instead of making up some BS reason that only his adorers will swallow?

I guess the reforms put in place after watergate to clean up presidential campaigns mean nothing to Obama. That's change that only he can believe in.

Forget where the money is coming from and put yourself in his position for a minute. He can take 80 million dollars under the guidelines or use 250 million that he's already accumulated....hmmmm. Some may call it flip-flopping...I call it common sense.

Posted by: Brad | June 19, 2008 12:14 PM

Brad, you are absolutely right, and anyone who thinks otherwise is painfully naive. My question is why can't Obama just be honest about it instead of making up some BS reason that only his adorers will swallow?

Posted by: Herbie H. | June 19, 2008 2:18 PM

OBAMA can't be honest about it because fundamentally OBAMA IS NOT HONEST. Stop drinking koolaid and use what's left of your brain cells.

Obama is Audacious. While collecting millions of dollars in Change he Hopes to win and help out his Daley backers and other contributors IF he wins.

Yawn, looks like he's evening the playing field to me.

I can understand why Republicans/conservatives would want to use this as ammo, but I'm baffled how those claiming to be Democrats/liberals are "forced" to vote for McCain because of this. Totally losing site of the real issues at stake during this election. A quick reminder:
1. SUPREME COURT
2. Iraq
3. Health Care
4. Education
5. Economy

Let real issues decide your vote, not petty crap like this.

Posted by: Rob | June 19, 2008 1:16 PM

THANK YOU, ROB!

Some people are very good at losing sight of actual issues by letting their fragile, little minds be shaped by what the media and YouTube says (Obama and McCain supporters alike). I didn't vote for Bush in 2000 or 2004 because I didn't think he was a smart enough man to run the country and I thought his policies were backwards.

How'd that one turn out, everyone?

It is interesting how many people jump to the conclusion that anybody who dislikes Obama is either a Republican, a right wing nut, a McCain supporter, a Clinton supporter, or anybody but people like me who have seen enough campaigns that we are not fooled by Obama's act.

.

I never check that box on my taxes to contribute to presidential campaigns. I want to directly support my candidate. And I will continue to do so.

Go Obama!

The neocons here seem to think that this means McCain will ONLY finance his campaign with this money. It couldn't be further from the truth. With all the so-called "independent" surrogates in the GOP machine, McCain's claims are disingenuous at best. McCain the "straight shooter" is as crooked as the rest of the right. Obama would be a fool to agree to such terms.

And besides, shouldn't Republicans be all about not wasting taxpayer dollars on stuff like this? Here's Obama being a capitalist, and you neocons sound like the commies you so claim to despise.

GO OBAMA!!! FINALLY REAL PUBLIC FINANCING! AS FOR THE FAT CATS AND GAS GUZZLING, HALIBURTON HACKS SUPPORTING McCLUNK, HUCKABEEN AND NOUN,VERB,9-11, GOOD LUCK...
PAY THE BAND!

I'm with a bunch of these responses in that I could care less. I'd rather Washington stop raising my taxes to fund campaigns and that the candidates become forced to raise money from the individuals, not special interests groups - putting the onus on them.

Good to see the spin and the "much ado about nothing" happening so soon in this campaign. I can't wait until December.

Obama has plenty of George Soros money. This shows the true Obama. He is a liberal. A liar. A true Washington politician. Obama should not be allowed to get away with this. He should have accepted the public funding and proved he was going to change Washington. All Obama supporters put the change we can bleive in signs away. That is a bunch of bunk. What a phoney. He is a cheap suit with no class. I hope America wakes up. OBAMA is FAKE FAKE FAKE.

The Dems need to Pick Hillary at the Convention. Otherwise, they LOSE.

Obama lied about Wright. He lied about Rezko. And he lied about public financing. My grandfather told me that if you tell one lie, you are a liar. When you tell three lies, you are a politician.

Please Obama, Drop out. You will never win.

God Bless America. God Bless John McCain.

So, let me get this straight. Obama won't accept $80 of your tax money to run his presidential campaign, and this is bad?

Obama did not go back on his word!! He chose to use money that the people have given him instead of government money. His campaign is funded by real Americans that don't have personal issues that can influence Obama. Who do you think would be the more influential contributor: Hollywood or OIL? How many Top-Ranked Republicans have been busted in their own scandals in the last decade? How many dems? Anything bad that people say about Obama only deals with people he knows. These people aren't influential. It's the president's connection with the Saudi's that should have concerned you all in '00 and '04, but that didn't stop all of you ignorant people from re-electing the WORST PRESIDENT EVER. Let's get some change in the white house. There is no way McCain will bring more change than Obama. NO WAY. Stop kidding yourselves. The country is going the way of the Roman Empire if we don't start changing things around here. We're not even a superpower anymore thanks to this endless oil/personal agenda war. Let's bring in obama and start healing the country. And Obama's race should not matter to anyone who considers themselves educated.

New politician, old politics. He IS new, very very very new (just half a term as senator), but he's clearly not about real "change" or "hope". He abandons his word for money, since he would have to forego more donations should he accept public financing and have to settle for a mere $80M otherwise. It's not the first dirty thing he's done for money, nor will it be his last.

I expect more reneges for expediency from this false prophet.

New politician, but old politics.

Let's see, I'd rather pay my $10 and have my president beholden to the taxpayer, or pay $0 and let him be beholden to whoever lined his pocket.

Wow. I'm amazed at how many people (republicans) can think Sen. Obama's decision is somehow negative for our country. The nerve of him to have the ability and intelligence to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and not recklessly "stay the course". Who wants rational thinkers in the White House anyways?

Reading these posts really crack me up. I can only imagine how the libs would be screaming injustice if McCain had been the one to raise all that money and Obama was the one to use the public money. McCain would be called McBush, accused of having dirty and lobbyist money in his campaign coffers. But Obama does it, and it is the right thing to do. I love how Mr. Hope and Change justifies it to combat the 527 PAC groups, but had he not made in excess of the $80M he wouldn't have said the same thing. He would have taken the federal money and whined about it being unfair.

Roger Morris - check yourself into an institution, your CAP LOCKED posts are the rantings of a madman and never make sense.

And Dave, the $80M is not tax money, it is $$ that people choose to check on their tax returns.

""""The true test of a candidate for president is whether he will stand on principle and keep his word to the American people.""" I think it is great he is not taking public monies. I don't get the principle that MC cain is trying to lay on Obama. Just because MC cain cannot raise the funds that Obama has, that is tuff for MC cain. If MC cain has principles, why is blasting Obama on non issues. Where are the answers to the big issues of the civil war in Iraq, economy, bad school systems. Why is MC cain following Bush around today in the flooded areas? When are you going to be your own man with your own policies MC cain. It's time to stand on your own and not Bushes failed policies.

cant you see that if Obama accepts public funds he wont be accountable to you and i but to the lobbyist who made the decision?
cant you all see?he has made the right decision.
he sees ahead so think that way too.

Obama for President is not about change, it is a clear and straight forward path for the Cook County/Chicago Democratic Machine to control the White House. Obama has been hand picked and groomed for this position by the Cook County/Chicago Democratic Machine under the guise of this supposedly charsamatic beacon of change. He cannot accept public financing because he has already been bought and paid for. Many of these people who follow blindly the Obama train are also the same people who continue to support and elect and re-elect the likes of Stroger & Blago. We have a saying here in Chicago, the voters in Chicago are like an abused woman who always thinks her husband will change even after the tenth beating. How many times do Obama supporters need to be lied to before they realize that things will only get worse, not better

What's the big deal, MC cain has been in the Senate for decades and he has still not fixed the corrupt system. MC cain and his followers are mad they don't have the funds that Obama has. Oh gee, too bad MC cain, all your lobbyists will support you with big fundings.

Obama appears to be as slick and dishonest as politicians come. He lost my support early on... now he has lost my respect!

Norm Ornstein from the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank and one of the authors of McCain Feingold bill said that it would be "political malpractice" if Obama were to accept public financing. All these whining McCain supporters can stop your sanctimonious howling and get a grip. Yes this is hypocrisy but it is good judgement. From your choice of candidate, it is obviously not something highly valued by you.

As a loyal Republican, I'm confused. Am I for public financing or against it?

*Sigh*

greendawg, as an American you are supposed to think for yourself.

I love Obama...he is so wonderful!!!

I guess I dont get it. If i remember the last two elections, their were so many 527's that smeared kerry, and mccain from the right, that spent millions of their own money(they were very rich people) and from donation from high profiled corperate exc's.and Lobbyist that made a complete mockery out of those elections. Now why would anyone with a ounce of brains who sees the probability of the same thing happening to them not be smart enough to say hell no, im not going for it.
The one thing that obama has done is to signal out anyone who smears McCain with false facts and fale statements of slander to knock it off.
I have watch MR mccain do exactly what Bush did to him in 2000 try to do to Obama in 2008. But obama was smart enough to understand that untill they get ahold of the funding for 527's and the likes, and make them obide by the standards of fairness, their isnt going to be anyone dumb enough to just sign on to a death wish for your run for office.
BUT WHY HASNT YOUR SIDE USED 3,500,000 DONATORS OF 5.00 TO 200.00? wHY HASNT YOUR MAN IN THE SENATE FOR 30 YEARS MADE IT ILLEGAL FOR SLIME BALL ORG. LIKE THE SWIFT BOATERS. yOUR SIDE IS DOING SO MANY FALSE AND MISLEADING ADS NOT PAID FOR BY MCcAIN BUT BY 527 AND THE LIKE ITS SICKING. THE SMAE ORG THAT BUSH USED TO SMEAR MCCAIN IN 2000, ARE NOW WORKING ON THE BEHALF OF MCCAIN AND DOING THE SAME THINGS FOR HIM ABOUT OBAMA.
YOUR PROBLEM IS YOU JUST DONT HAVE THAT MANY PEOPLE WHO WILL DOLE UP THE 5,10,20 OR 100 OR 200.00 BUCKS IT TAKES TO OVERCOME THE VAST RIGHT WING SLIME MACHINES.