Political Tidbit

Campaign finance on the brain.

I make no secret of my liberal leanings, lest you think them suspect following my next comment: I am not happy that Barack Obama opted out of public financing. I know that he is a fund-raising machine.

I know that opting out was the only way to keep Blue money coming to him instead of 527's and special interests - two groups he has specifically attempted to stymie on the Democratic side both in his statements to the DNC and in his more radical efforts to consolidate the party at election HQ in IL.

I know he makes a good point that the financing system is "broken" - a term I don't like either. I'd prefer we admit that it is too easy to circumvent. A "Broken" one would launch an ERROR 404 when you hit "Submit Contribution" at http://www.barackobama.com/.

And, finally, I know that he has a great counter to any jab from McCain (for those wondering what that defeaning silence was from the right following this announcement). McCain opted in to public financing for the primary, then he opted out, all of which was muddied by the loans McCain may or may not have gotten using the promise of public finance as collateral. The legality of that is both practically moot and completely up in the air. To use Obama's term, the FEC is currently "broken."

Still, Obama stands in part for fixing the problems of government not by dismantling it, but by doing away with cynicism and using government the way it was intended. Here he is opting out of that government - so I am not completely happy with the decision, though I understand that it very much the right one.