Obama and McCain Duel On Campaign Finance

In a preview of what right now appears as the most probable general election match-up, Barack Obama and John McCain have been going back and forth in the past few days about campaign finance.

The GOP is criticizing Obama for fudging a pledge he supposedly made earlier this year to enter the public financing system if the Republican candidate does as well. Now that McCain is looking very interested to do just that but Obama has not yet reiterated that he then would for sure, Obama is being portrayed as a waverer. After all, many Democrats are logically reluctant to enter in public financing in the general election considering that they have a very rare advantage in campaign contribution. Used to being heavily outspent, it is Democrats have been crushing their Republican opponents in fundraising, and that disparity is especially striking in the case of McCain and Obama.

Obama's semi-pledged that is now being quoted is as follows: "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." No candidate uses this kind of careful construction if he is trying to take a pledge, and Obama can therefore hardly be accused of having broken one.

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