Here’s the Washington Post’s Candidate Fact Checker about the Obama pledge.
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In part:
After the FEC issued its ruling, the rhetoric became less equivocal. On March 1, Burton challenged Republican candidates to follow McCain and agree to public financing. He said that Obama, if nominated, would “aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.”
Many newspapers, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, interpreted this Burton statement as a commitment to accept public financing in the event of an Obama-McCain race. As far as I can tell, the Obama campaign made no effort to dispel this impression. His enthusiasm for public financing was a way of distinguishing himself from his rival Hillary Clinton, who was raising much more private money at the time.
The 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.
When I asked Burton about this yesterday, he said that Obama would address the issue of public financing when he becomes the Democratic nominee and that it is premature to decide the matter now.
VarlosZ:
I don’t yet have an opinion about this matter, though I am an Obama supporter.
One thing I will comment on, however, is that, if the shoe were on the other foot, this is exactly the sort of thing that would send this forum into a tizzy – and I think you guys know it, too. As it is, so far I’ve got it about 7:1 for Obama here if you count the posts that come down explicitly on one side or another.
Seriously, imagine a universe in which McCain opts out of public financing. Now imagine a thread in GD overwhelmingly defending the move. It’s just not plausible, I don’t think.
I would say exactly the same thing I’m saying now. That he was breaking a pledge (or at least the appearance of a pledge), but that he’d be an idiot not to. I think the “if the shoe was on the other foot” is specious in this case. This board is not that mindlessly disingenuous.
Oh, I see what I was missing! Not getting public funding is a BAD thing. I didn’t know that.
I suppose it’s because you no longer have to follow government rules for campaign finances-- yes?
And here I was feeling all sorry for McCain because Bush stepped on his dick in this matter. Now I see he’s doing McCain a favor.
Yes. This is what it says on the Donation page of Obama’s website:
To comply with Federal law, we must use best efforts to obtain, maintain, and submit the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 per calendar year.
Shodan
June 19, 2008, 6:50pm
25
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
I don’t want a secular saint to offer in sacrifice to the Pubbie machine. I want someone who will fight to win, because we need to win. As has already been noted, McCain has no standing to cry about hypocrisy, he has already played fast and loose with the rules, and I have no doubt that he will, substantially, get away with it.
Shayna:
My recollection, which very well could be faulty, is that it was an aide who filled out a “check the box-style” questionnaire on Obama’s behalf. And when he was asked about that questionnaire during the debate, he explained its format and the inability to apply meaningful nuance to any of the answers, then proceeded to explain the terms under which he would be agreeable to discussing public financing should he become the nominee.
I still think he fulfilled that “promise”. I’ll see if I can find any confirmation of my fuzzy recall.
That’s what I was remembering. McCain’s people are already calling Obama a liar and saying there were no negotiations. I don’t particularly believe them, but I’m just saying that this outcome was a certainty.
Well, there are notable exceptions.
Shodan
June 19, 2008, 6:52pm
29
There certainly are. There certainly are.
Regards,
We are remiss if we do not congratulate Shodan for his cogent and carefully reasoned post. A beacon to us all.
Squink
June 19, 2008, 6:59pm
31
McCain has been spending private money since February for what is basically a general election campaign. What a disingenuous crybaby twit he is to whine about Obama.
Shayna
June 19, 2008, 7:11pm
33
Well, this article in the NY Times , says that John McCain withdrew first, in anticipation that Obama “would find a way to retreat.”
Published: February 15, 2008
. . . "On Tuesday, one of Mr. McCain’s advisers told The New York Times that the campaign had decided to forgo public financing in the general election, an awkward admission for a senator who has made campaign finance reform a central part of his political persona.
That adviser was speaking on the assumption that Mr. Obama, who has broken all records in political fund-raising and is currently drawing more than $1 million a day, would find a way to retreat from the pledge in order to outspend his opponent in the fall by far. . .
What a load of crap.
They go on to repeatedly blame and finger-point at Obama, this being all his fault, you know, in spite of not even being the nominee at that point. But then at the end, we get to the part about the questionnaire. I did recall incorrectly – he did put that caveat right on the questionnaire, and it clearly didn’t make or imply a “commitment”.
Mr. Wertheimer also pointed to one of Mr. Obama’s responses to a questionnaire released in November by the Midwest Democracy Network, an alliance of 20 civic and public-interest groups in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Asked if he would participate in the public-financing system if he was nominated for president and his major opponents agreed to do the same, Mr. Obama wrote yes. Then he added, also in writing, “If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.”
So, I found the actual questionnaire (pdf file), complete with answers from Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Barack Obama and Ron Paul. Here are some excerpts:
Question I-A:
Strengthen ___ Keep the same ___ Repeal ___
CLINTON: No response.
*Question I-B: *
Yes ___ No ___
CLINTON: No response.
PAUL: No response.
Well, there you have it. I flat out don’t see any reneging on any commitments here. In February 2007 he made a proposal , not a promise. He came up with a plan that required agreement between the parties. That agreement was pursued by his legal team, but McCain did not agree to the terms. This is all just another political smear job by the McCain camp.
Barack Obama is 100% right and John McCain is a lying weasel.
Here’s a video from Obama explaining why his campaign is opting out of public funding.
Sent in an email to, I believe, people who have donated to his campaign.
Good work, Shayna ! Wow. McCain is the sleaziest pig I’ve seen in a long time.
What’s the point of having a public campaign financing system if folks can ignore it?
I’d rather Sen. Obama go the public route but, alas, he’s hardly the first candidate to “opt out”. The real fault lies in the campaign finance law itself. Either make it mandatory, or kill it.
There may be a handful of exceptions, but I don’t think the board is disingenuous (mindlessly or otherwise). I think the board is biased, which is inevitable and not really detractive at all.
McCain seems to be all over the place with this. In and out and in again.
I am outraged that Obama saved the American taxpayer $80 million.
So what happens to these funds when they go unused? Do they move into another pot, or sit there until the next election cycle?