NPR: Obama Says He Would Pursue Public Funds for Election

Obama Says He Would Pursue Public Funds for Election

Sen. Barack Obama says he likes the idea of having a publicly funded election. And he writes in USAToday that if he is the Democratic Party's candidate for president, he will "aggressively pursue" an agreement with the apparent Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, about holding one ... but with conditions.

I propose a meaningful agreement in good faith that results in real spending limits. The candidates will have to commit to discouraging cheating by their supporters; to refusing fundraising help to outside groups; and to limiting their own parties to legal forms of involvement. And the agreement may have to address the amounts that Senator McCain, the presumptive nominee of his party, will spend for the general election while the Democratic primary contest continues.

The involvement of outside groups as a way around any deal is a concern to the Illinois senator. He points to an agreement between Sen. John Kerry and then Gov. William Weld in their Massachusetts Senate contest in 1996 about campaign spending limits. "The agreement did not accomplish all these candidates hoped, but they believe that it made a substantial difference in controlling outside groups as well as their own spending."

Obama says that will "pass the test" when it comes to a real agreement on a publicly funded election and that he hopes McCain passes his.

8:00 AM ET | 02-20-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

All politicans have to compromise and I can live with this one. It doesn't make me question Obama's integrity or honesty in the least.

I think McCain knows he cannot raise as much money as Obama--that momentum, enthusiasm, and fundraising are on the Democrats side--so he's trying to drag Obama into an early fight that can only help his own dried up funds.

It's a non-story in terms of how many times McCain has "flip-flopped" on more important matters... like torture.

Sent by Frank | 11:40 AM ET | 02-20-2008

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