Edwards Pulls Back On Public Finance Pledge

New York Times:

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.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[anghiari]

03:47 PM on 10/01/2007

So what? Why shouldn't he if he needs the money? Lobbyists have kicked campaign financing into the stratosphere. More power to Edwards and I am not even actively supporting him. However, I do like him and what he has to say quite a bit. I would much rather he take public monies rather than kowtow to lobbyists.

Grow up people!

[GenericBlogger]

09:26 AM on 10/02/2007

Breck Boy is criticized for breaking a prior pledge that he would use his own money or the money he raised. Now that his chances are slimmer, he breaks his pledge.

Breaking a pledge after an election is one thing, breaking one before speaks volumes.

[godlessclif]

10:01 PM on 09/30/2007

I'm alot more concerned with a Vice-President who is creaming himself to go to war with Iran.

Don't you mean herself.
Clinton/Lieberman in 2008

[average joe]

10:24 AM on 09/30/2007

John old lady playing the I'm sick card today. Well go home get in the bed and shut up. For a guy who has 60 million stash away want taxpayers money what crap. He get four hundred dollar hair cuts and the wife looks like a Wal Mart shoper.

[GenericBlogger]

04:06 PM on 09/30/2007

Breck Boy can't think straight when he has a bad hair day.

[Zhonni]

09:44 PM on 09/30/2007

I don't agree with you describing Edwards's wife as looking like Wal Mart shopper. Some like to dress up and some dress down. We are all different.

[average joe]

10:19 PM on 09/30/2007

What I'm saying is he looks like a million. Do you think she gets high price cuts and clothes like him. Two different households. They don't seem to fit.

[MidMo]

03:39 AM on 09/30/2007

BTW- we have a candidate in the dem primary that has committed to public financing for the general (back in March!!).

It is as long as the GOP nominee does as well- But a great gesture nonetheless. Barack Obama

[TekBoss]

11:45 PM on 09/29/2007

This is good news. I was afraid he might turn his back on a lot of money once he is nominated.

[GenericBlogger]

06:30 PM on 09/29/2007

ini mini miny mo
take taxpayers money and go
Liz, is my hair ok to show
grab the money and let's go

[Average]

04:11 PM on 09/29/2007

More PROOF that Edwards has NO INTEGRITY and NO CLUE. He will DO/SAY ANYTHING to get a vote. He is a DISGRACE.

[average joe]

03:41 PM on 09/29/2007

Mitt wrote a check for 9 million. John got money but he wants to steal from the taxpayers. Ann C got it right.

[realitytrumpsbull]

03:39 PM on 09/29/2007

John Edwards, spokesman for the National Slumlords Association, announced today...

[Boadicea]

02:41 PM on 09/29/2007

What?

Edwards said one thing, unequivocally, and now he says another, hedging and prevaricating?
Well now, that's unusual, isn't it? LOL

Read the full story. Even his campaign manager has flipped and flopped and flipped again on this financing issue. For those who don't know, Edwards has reversed his pledge of two days ago because there was such a hue and cry from - you guessed it - dailyKos!

Here's the meaning of this story in a nutshell - Edwards is so ambitious that he would rather risk losing the election to the Republicans in the general, as long as he beats Hillary and Obama in the primary.

[jeanruss]

01:40 PM on 09/29/2007

I hope Edwards does whatever he needs to do to stay in the race-because he wants to have a free hand to lead the country when he is elected, he didn't want corporate money, so naturally he would not have raised as much as the other candidates WHO ARE FOR SALE-Hillary's vote for war with Iran is the perfect example of a candidate being forced to vote for something BAD FOR AMERICA because she is beholden to certain powerful groups-she is not free to do the right thing-Edwards will have a free hand, which is A GREAT THING-obviously, we have seen and suffered with the current beholden president-we cannot have another eight years of corporate occupation.

[Charley Nobel]

02:11 PM on 10/01/2007

jeanruss, darlin', this is the second of your comments that I've read (on two different posts) in which you referred to Sen. Clinton's vote for the war with Iran. Please, my attention span can sometimes be short, just when was that vote? Or do you know something that the rest of us have missed?
Kids in Industry...

[eastearll]

01:13 PM on 09/29/2007

Edwards is just taking a government check so he can understand what poverty feels like. Now he will know the humiliation of being a welfare queen.

[Ginzaman]

01:04 PM on 09/29/2007

I knew it was a scam. Get mileage out of it while you can. But the reality is you buy the election. So grab all the money you can before Hillary does.

[OtayPanky]

12:50 PM on 09/29/2007

As a campaign tactic, it's just plain dumb to take the moral high ground (as Edwards claimed he was doing) by going the public finance route for the primaries, and leaving his options open for the general election.

It makes his decision look transparently manipulative.

One of the really basic rules is: if you're going to manipulate the electorate, you can't let them see that man behind the curtain.

I'm sorry to say it, but this is the mark of a campaign in a tailspin.

[daniel155]

02:20 AM on 09/29/2007

Why bother to make a comment on a campaign in disarray?

[JoAnnCr]

09:32 AM on 09/29/2007

You evidently have not done your homework. Edwards has one of the most organized campaigns running now.

Do your homework before you embarrass yourself.

BTW Edwards has raised more than any Democratic candidate in history before this race. As usual, he starts the dialog and sets the trend.

[daniel155]

01:06 PM on 09/29/2007

Why can't he just admit that he is taking public financing because he needs the matching funds to run a credible campaign in the early states?

Instead his handlers try to make him a saint and want us to believe that he is taking public financing for altruistic purposes. Jeez, John, just be honest and say you need the money. People would respect you more.

It doesn't matter whether Edwards raised any more money than anyone else in history up to this point because he has lagged behind Obama and Clinton badly in fundraising and it has not been like he hasn't been trying.

As for trends, Edwards has pretty much flatlined in national polls in the low to mid-teens since this campaign began.

Your homework assignment is to go look at polls in the early states and see how it looks for Edwards. Not too promising and it is hard to see anything that is going to change it.