Edwards’s Embrace of Public Money May Be Limited

[Adelante]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 — A day after John Edwards said he had decided to participate in public campaign financing as a matter of principle, his campaign manager appeared to scale back the candidate’s initial commitment.

The campaign manager said Mr. Edwards was leaving open the possibility of rejecting public financing for the general election campaign.

Mr. Edwards’s campaign advisers said he had not meant to commit himself for the general election, but the discrepancy added fuel to a debate over why he had abruptly embraced public financing after long signaling that he would not.

-snip

In an interview Friday, Joe Trippi, a senior Edwards campaign adviser, said Mr. Edwards had meant to say that he was committed only to a proposal that his rival, Senator Barack Obama, had extended to the Republicans. If the Republican nominee agrees to accept public campaign financing and its limits, Mr. Obama and now Mr. Edwards have said they would do the same.

“He was thinking of the Obama challenge to the Republican nominee,” Mr. Trippi said, adding that Mr. Edwards would “entertain” relying on public financing even if the Republican does not. It was unclear why Mr. Edwards had not merely extended the same challenge to his better-financed Democratic primary rivals, Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both have trounced Mr. Edwards in fund-raising, each ending the second quarter with more than twice his $13 million in the bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/us/politics/29edwards.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

[MethuenProgressive]

1. His fans are having trouble deciding which Edwards to cheer....

So far they've applauded both side of his public funding flips, will they applaud this flop, too?

[Inspired]

2. I'm not having any troubles over this.

I'm cheering John Edwards. Period. I'm applauding this decision. My donation will be matched by public funds. I couldn't be happier about that.

Why does this issue bother you so much? It isn't like you were ever going to support Edwards anyway. Where does the candidate you support stand on public financing? Do they REALLY support it? Or are they just pandering when the issue comes up?

Instead of trying to slam Edwards' supporters, maybe you could post something that your candidate has said regarding this issue. The last time I checked, MOST Democrats support this.

So he changed his mind on this? It is no secret that he hasn't raised as much money as Obama and Clinton. I think it is a good decision and shows his commitment to the campaign.

So now you know how this supporter feels about it. It really didn't cause a ripple in my solid support of John Edwards.