Edwards agrees to public financing proposal, joining Obama and McCain

[draft_mario_cuomo]

BO deserves credit for getting the ball rolling on this.

==The presidential candidate joins an effort to preserve federal campaign funding.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007; Page A12

"I AM also a strong supporter of public financing, and when I am the Democratic nominee for president, if the Republican nominee agrees, I will accept public financing of my campaign." So said North Carolina Democrat John Edwards in a welcome, if somewhat overdue, statement the other day.

The issue involves the not-quite-dead system for public financing of presidential campaigns, in which candidates, in theory, receive matching funds for the primaries and full public financing for the general election. In reality, the cost of campaigning has grown so high and the amount of matching funds a candidate can receive has remained so low that no major candidate is participating in the primary financing system. It is likely, but not certain, that candidates will -- for the first time since the system was put in place -- decline general election financing as well. In anticipation of that, many candidates, including Mr. Edwards, are already collecting money for their general election war chests.

The system has a chance of being saved, however. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) has obtained approval from the Federal Election Commission to raise general election money but preserve the option of returning it, and taking public funding instead, if he is the nominee and his GOP opponent agrees to do the same. Until Mr. Edwards's statement, only Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) had signed on to Mr. Obama's plan, back in March when the FEC first made its ruling. Now two of the three leading Democrats have agreed to the deal. The campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has said only that she will "consider" public financing. "Position unchanged," the campaign told us when we mentioned Mr. Edwards's change of heart. That's unfortunate. It will be unfortunate, too, if more Republican candidates don't match Mr. McCain's stance.==

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701449.html

[Dawgs]

1. OMG!!!!!

:wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:

[TwilightGardener]

2. If Bloomberg enters the race, there's no way anyone will stick with public financing.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

3. True, but JE, BO, and JM are making this contigent on the other side accepting it

I agree if Bloomberg enters the D and R nominees will have no choice but to opt out of the public financing system.