Thursday, June 19, 2008

Obama Opts out of Public Funding of Election

It is a smart idea for Barack Obama not to fall for McCain's hypocritical call for staying within the public funding of the presidential campaign. The Illinois Senator has an enormous advantage in fundraising relative to the Republican candidate. It would tantamount to unilateral disarmament for him stay within the public funding of the campaign. Wouldn't McCain done the same thing if he were in the same position and not Obama. Historically Republicans have had the upper hand. This time around the Democrats are in a superior position:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Thursday he has decided to forgo public financing of his election campaign against Republican John McCain.

The decision frees him up to collect money privately, which could be a help to him strategically ahead of November's election. During the Democratic primary, Obama smashed records for fundraising, largely on the success he achieved in raising money over the Internet.

"We've made the decision not to participate in the public financing system for the general election," Obama said in a video statement emailed to reporters.

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