Obama and public financing

Whether you read and listen to right or left wing pundits right now, most are in agreement. Obama broke his word to take public financing in the fall. Public financing, which has been used for presidential campaigns since 1976 would have this fall limited him to $84 million. McCain quickly jumped on it saying he was going to take the money and attacked Obama for flipflopping.

Is this a sign that McCain doesn't remember his own changes on policies-- some that matter a lot more than this? Did McCain wait to announce his decision to slam Obama? Despite his saying he hadn't decided earlier, McCain probably had no choice on it given he had financed his primary campaign with the guarantee that, if he won the nomination, he would use taxpayer funding for his fall campaign.

Why would Obama opt out of free (if you don't count that it's taxpayer money) campaign funds?

Let's start with the loopholes in the public financing laws (some of which McCain put there). For instance he freely uses his wife's corporate jet-- still-- and doesn't reimburse her for the amount it actually costs... when he reimburses her at all. This is a benefit to all rich men if the money that they pay for travel, which is a lot, doesn't count. His travel would not come out of that taxpayer funded $84 million. Obama's would.

Then there is the question of the 527s. McCain has already made it clear he can't stop them from what they are already doing. Slander Obama and that's nothing to him (unless he can use it himself in a sly way in his next speech). 527s (for either side) are unlimited in what they can put out and have no accountability under election laws. They also would not count under that $84 million taxpayer funded campaign. In 2004, we saw how effective these kinds of ads can be.

Although McCain hasn't been raising as much money as Obama on a personal level, the Republican party is way ahead of the Democratic party. Their ads also will not be counted in allowed campaign costs. They can run unlimited ads in ways that benefit McCain while putting down Obama.

McCain has been running his presidential campaign all spring, since he secured his party's nomination, while Obama was still working to earn his nomination which gave McCain a big head start. To make it even sweeter for McCain he's using Hillary's talking points now against Obama.

One could argue that in a time where the government is in debt and borrowing more every year, that $168 million could be better used other ways than in campaigning since both candidates can raise more if they want, but that's not really why I believe Obama made the right decision.

Obama has already had all kinds of garbage being thrown against him. Oh yes, the McCain camp is innocent in doing it. They don't have to be involved. McCain says he can't control it even when it goes too far or spreads lies. Maybe that is so. It doesn't particularly hurt his cause to let it happen though while he keeps his hands clean. How many people today fear voting for Obama because they think he's a Muslim terrorist or his wife is bitter and hates America?

Obama has asked those who donate to him to not give to other groups, not wanting to see his own 527s sprout up. I don't think those kind of ads are good, like by that group that has the emotional young mother with her baby on her lap and telling McCain (regarding his hundred years in Iraq statement), that he can't have her son someday. I don't respect McCain's viewpoint on the war (or anything else) but that ad really is also about scare tactics.

What Obama would like to do, and it's not easy, is keep his organization under his control-- something novel I know but encouraging for how he might run his administration someday. If money goes to 527s on his side, it will have garbage piling up on both sides, changing the tone of the whole campaign to a point where nothing that matters even gets discussed.

If Americans don't like Obama's decision on campaign financing, they don't have to donate to him. He is taking a risk that they might listen to the many talking heads who immediately jumped onto this by accusing Obama of losing his honor over it.

To me it was something he should not have promised in the beginning, but sometimes we learn as we go. I think he hoped the campaign would be different than it has already been. Personally I like the idea that he can look at something and do a reassessment for what is best even if it's not what is popular.

Maybe he hoped there wouldn't be 527s this time. Call it naive. Maybe he thought McCain really could or would stop them. Whatever his original reason, the initial indication he would take public financing was his mistake, not his reassessment that it would cost him the race if he limited himself that way.

All of the pundits and likely the talk radio show hosts were repeating what Fox has said which is that Obama signed a promise to take federal funds for his fall campaign. That's not quite how it was. It was a questionnaire that he checked the box saying yes that he would take it if the Republican did, but he wrote quite a bit explaining his reasoning about how he felt campaigns should be run. You don't hear about those words.

Personally, I think if the 527s were not already operating, if McCain had had control over their content, this might have gone the other way; but as it is, Obama needs to have the money to react quickly to whatever comes against him. He's not the soft, weak man that the Republicans have been trying to sell. Next we'll hear he's too tough...

Officially today is the last day of spring and first day of summer-- Summer Solstice. In honor of that and because when I write about something difficult, I like to add something pretty, I decided to use a few wildflower photos from recent hikes in the Coast Range and Willamette Valley.

It's a hard time right now with scary weather talk, difficult decisions to be made in government, economic difficulties, major questions about what is really going on in many areas, but life isn't just about that. There is beauty. There are good things out there. As the saying goes, stop and smell the roses-- especially the wild ones.