President Barack Obama's campaign has decided to fight fire with fire -- a decision that may just burn a hole in our democracy. Ask the president himself.
Obama, an immediate critic of the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision that allows a sea of corporate and special interest money in political campaigns, toured the nation in 2010, warning Americans about the dangers that unfettered cash donations posed to discourse and representative government. At the time, Republicans were taking in the vast majority of the money, primarily through super PACs, which could support individual candidates.
Fast-forward to earlier this month, and Obama is now encouraging his own supporters to donate to a super PAC that supports his re-election. It's a major reversal, and given his GOP rivals' huge super PAC fundraising, perhaps an obvious one for someone seeking an even playing field. But it also represents something beyond a flip-flop. It sanctions special interest influence at the highest levels of government.
Neither Obama and his wife Michelle, nor Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, will attend the super PAC fundraising events, but campaign staff and some cabinet members will.
Watch the video above as Obama rails against the campaign finance system -- and then abruptly changes course when it comes time for re-election.
CORRECTION: This video has been updated to correct the dates of two video clips.