Obama's reversal

It's a shame he rejected public funding

June 24, 2008

Faced with a choice of principle versus pragmatism on campaign financing, Barack Obama chose pragmatism, the more lucrative option. That's disappointing. He pledged months ago to accept public campaign financing - and its spending limits - if his Republican opponent did too.

Now Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, and his Republican counterpart, John McCain, says he'll take public financing. But Obama won't, making him the first presidential candidate to opt out in a general election since 1976, when public financing began. Obama's principles were tested by his herculean fund-raising ability.

McCain will get $84.1 million in public money for the two months from his nomination, at the Republican convention, to election day. Obama tapped 1.5 million donors for $287 million in the primaries, so a $300 million general election war chest is conceivable.

Obama said he needs the money to counter Republican party fund-raising and his foes' ability to game the system via so-called 527 groups that can raise money without restriction for issue advocacy. Think Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Those groups - both right- and left-leaning - should be reined in. And public financing needs an update that would, in the future, narrow the gap between public funding limits and the big bucks that candidates who opt out can raise privately.

Obama's ability to tap small donors is impressively grassroots. But it's no substitute for public financing - still the surest way to curb the power of money in politics.