Obama and Public Financing

I think the one thing missing from the media echo chamber on Obama's decision to opt out of public financing is the reality that American's who aren't plugged into the Washington political machine do think that campaign financing is broken. All those politicians who have been taking tax payer money clearly haven't been immunized from the impact of "big money". so I just don't think Obama taking money from 1.5m Americans makes him anymore succeptable to the corruption claims that everyone throws around.

As far as the "flip flop" charge some people are pushing, if people actually get to hear him speak for himself (and a big if based on the amazing out of shameless clipping being done by the media - I mean I think if youare going to use video theyshould at leastget to finish thjhe sentence before cut back to the commentator) he is convincing on why he opted out.

That said, the insiders who have the most to lose from a paradigm shift in have been doing their best to lie through their teeth on this and make it seem like not taking public financing is in some way illegal or illegitimate. Just because the politics as usual over the past three decades has said you have to take $85m from taxpayers to pay for your campaign doesn't mean you have to. And PS, it would be nice just once to hear about how McCain has been illegally funding his primary campaign after unilaterally pulling out of public financing once he realized he could earn more privately funding.