February 07, 2007
Yes -- Obama Is Opting Out.. But
A very good catch by the Politico's Ken Vogel, who was tipped by the FEC to an Obama campaign request for an advisory opinion about the public financing system.
Here's the rub:
Obama has decided to reject the federal matching funds for the primary. He's going to start raising money in increments of $4600, of which $2300 would be shunted to his general election -- that's post-convention -- account.
An Obama adviser explains the question this way: is there any way, post-convention, that Obama could return the money he's raised for the general and accept the general election match? If you've let the horse out of the barn, can you shove him back in?
Bottom line: Obama's decided to opt out of the primary. He wants to preserve the option of opting back in for the general election -- if he can. But as of today, the campaign has started to raise money in $4600 chunks. Unless the FEC says otherwise, he'll fund his general election campaign -- should he be so fortunate as to get the nomination --himself.
Posted at 07:40 PM
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