Lest I be seen as naively uncritical of my candidate, let me go on the record and say it: turning down public financing was a mistake. OK, maybe the system is broken. Maybe the campaign can make more money without public financing. But do we really need to spend that much more money? And what does that say about us? That we'll leave no nickel unspent on ads, ads and more ads?
Turning down public financing left the moral high-ground to our opponent in a year when we must run on a message of being principled. Bad.
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It is a rhetorical opportunity for the McCain camp, but I think Obama did the right thing. If he did wrong it was way back in Feb when he made the promise.
Obama is getting a much larger proportion of his money through small donors than anyone else since at least Howard Dean. Agreeing to the spending limits imposed by public financing would prevent these individuals from giving that money.
Meanwhile, large donors can continue to give as much a they want to the national parties and to 527 interest groups. They aren't limited at all by their candidate agreeing to spending limits.
What I'd really like to see is free television time, mandated by the FCC. That wouldn't stop anyone from giving anything to anyone, but it would greatly reduce the need for the money in the first place. It goes after the money on the demand end as opposed to the supply end.
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