June 20, 2008
Hotline After Dark -- Show Me The Money!
Last night's TV coverage was dominated by Barack Obama's decision to reverse a long standing pledge and opt out of public financing.
FNC's Cameron: "Having shattered all fund-raising records, Barack Obama's announcement was widely expected. ... Because of Obama's decision to forgo public funds, [John] McCain, at one point today, said he would have to reevaluate his own financing. McCain has never been a particularly prolific fund raiser and the reevaluation didn't take very long.Campaign aides held a conference call this afternoon to say McCain will keep his word and accept public funds. Meaning for the first time in modern political history, the Republican presidential candidate will be vastly outspent by the Democrat" ("Special Report," 6/19).
Politico's Cummings: "I don't think that there was probably a long debate about this. There are many people who are working for Barack Obama today who were working for John Kerry in 2004. Kerry, like Barack Obama, was raising a whole lot of money, but went ahead and went into the system only to be outspent by the Republicans in the general. There are a lot of people inside Barack Obama's campaign that did not want to make that mistake again" ("NewsHour," PBS, 6/19).
Bill Bennett, on Obama saying the system is broken: "Was it not broken before? Did the system just break in the last two weeks or two months? No. I mean, what's the difference that's occurred in the last two months? They saw how much money they could raise. It was the money that turned his head, not principle" ("AC 360," CNN, 6/19).
Newsweek's Fineman: "It goes against the grain of what Obama has been arguing, except for the fact ... that this is a form of public financing, in the sense that, he does have a genuine grassroots movement and he is proposing a sort of Net-based alternative to collecting taxpayer money for public financing. It is a form of public financing in that sense, and I don't think that's an argument he should shy away from. ... So, I don't think of it as 180 degree reversal. I think of it as a recognition of reality and one he's been signaling for a long time" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 6/19).
After the jump, more Obama and Boehner on the war funding bill.
(KATHERINE LEHR)
FNC's Hannity: "The controversial decision makes him the first candidate in more than 30 years to run for office without public financing" ("Hannity & Colmes," 6/19).
Chicago Sun-Times' Sweet: "I would just like to make the quick point. ... The Republican National Committee, which can spend money on behalf of McCain, has millions of dollars more than the Democratic National Committee. Plus, there are these third-party groups. But all that was pretty well known at the time [Obama] made the pledge to try and seriously try and make a deal with McCain" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 6/19).
Ex-FEC official Ken Gross: "The big, obvious gain here is that he is going to raise a ton of money. He's going to have hundreds of millions of dollars at his disposal. He can roll over anything left from the primary into his general campaign and can now start raising general election money in earnest, so he could raise $200 million, $300 million, maybe more, against McCain's limit of $84 million. So this is a money play, when you get right down to it. That is a tremendous advantage" ("NewsHour," PBS, 6/19).
CNN's Dobbs: "It's a cynical decision on the part of Senator Obama who keeps talking about the audacity of hope. He's basically saying that money will, if you will, trump those disappointments on the part of voters who thought he really was change you could believe in. ... The point is the man made a promise and he broke it" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 6/19).
THE DANCE WE SHARED
House Min. Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was on "NewsHour" last night to discuss the agreement to continue funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Boehner: "After months of a kabuki dance with Democrat leaders, they finally decided to reach across the aisle to Republicans. And we sat down and, in a matter of several hours, were able to put an agreement together. And I think it's a great victory for our troops and their families. This funds our activities in Afghanistan and in Iraq, provides additional and new G.I. benefits for our soldiers and their families, and at the same time provides some increased funding for ... the flooding disasters going on in the Midwest."
More: "I think the important part on our side is that there were no tax increases in this bill. There are no extraneous spending items. There's no earmarks or pork in the bill. And those were issues early on that had concerns for members on my side of the aisle, and we were able to eliminate all of that, as well" (PBS, 6/19).
Posted at 09:16 AM
Comments
Fineman is wrong: Obama likes to claim that he's created a "parallel public financing system where the American people decide if they want to support a campaign they can get on the Internet and finance it."
That can only be said about donors, not expenditures. The public financing system encourages political participation of small donors, but it also includes spending limits from which Obama will now be exempt. So his claim of a parallel public finance system is, at best, half true.
On the other hand, McCain's claim that Obama had promised to use public financing is mostly true.
corinne | 06.20.08 09:37 AM
 |
I think Corinne needs to sprinkle some Splenda on that bowl of sour grapes she is eating. If they are crunching, remember: It's the pits!!!
Royal King | 06.20.08 10:50 AM
|
It isn't just sour grapes; it's kind of a universal reaction, even among those who were expected to be strong Obama supporters against McCain.
Take today's Washington Post editorial: "Mr. Obama had an opportunity here to demonstrate that he really is a different kind of politician, willing to put principles and the promises he has made above political calculation. He made a different choice, and anyone can understand why: He's going to raise a ton of money. . .
"Fine. Politicians do what politicians need to do. But they ought to spare us the self-congratulatory back-patting while they're doing it."
Pining for Chuck Todd | 06.20.08 02:35 PM
|
Wow, I really can't imagine how McCain would be treated by the media if he did this! On a questionnaire that BHO signed, he answered YES, that he would not opt out of the public system if his Republican opponent did not opt out of it.
I think this is, by far, the biggest flip-flop yet.
"I was for the public finance system before I was against it."
LOL!
Not such a "new" kind of politician.
(Well, I guess Jeremiah Wright tried to warn us.)
Jan | 06.20.08 02:39 PM
|
Well, here is what I think you should do Jan Sweetie. I think you should gather up a whole parcel of like-minded breeders on the morning of November 4 and load each of them in your mini-van. Tell them all to wear those hose with the tummy support so you can crowd more in, or are you all the stretch pants sort? Well, that is a problem, Sweetie, not to mention a crime against taste. Then, you all go right down to those polls and vote against a woman's right to chose. You go girl! That's what we need in this country. An end to a woman's right to chose, Sweetie. Then, you and all the other breeders can have fat little twerps running about screaming and gettin chocolate fingerprints all over everything.
Royal King | 06.20.08 03:07 PM
|
I have to side with Royal King. Only Obama's outright allegiance to Satan could make me vote Republican. The only bright spot we've had in this country in the past forty years was under a Democratic president. DEMOCRATIC. People need to wake the heck up and see things for what they are: A Republican ruled country only cares about the rich. That's why this country has gone to Hell.
Nothing short of Obama being confirmed as the anti-christ could make me ever want to see another Republican president in office.
Toni | 06.20.08 05:27 PM
|
Color Me Shocked - Obama is a politician; ying/flip-flopping/doing what is best for him first; god who would have saw that coming.
The kool-aid will be totally worn off by the general at this rate...
TammyV | 06.20.08 07:36 PM
|
Color Me Shocked - Obama is a politician; lying/flip-flopping/doing what is best for him first; god who would have saw that coming.
The kool-aid will be totally worn off by the general at this rate...
TammyV | 06.20.08 07:36 PM
|
>>>Nothing short of Obama being confirmed as the anti-christ could make me ever want to see another Republican president in office.
LOL. But Toni, I think he'd have a hard time knocking off the current anti-christ: George W. McCheney.
Ethan | 06.22.08 05:43 PM
|
Post a comment
The Watergate · 600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400 · fax 202-833-8069
NationalJournal.com is an Atlantic Media publication.
