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The McCain campaign must make this hurt

James Forsyth

Thursday, 19th June 2008

Barack Obama has decided to become the first major party candidate to opt-out of public financing for the presidential election since the system was created in 1976. The decision will give Obama, thank to his huge donor base, a massive money advantage over McCain. Obama is going to be able to flood the airwaves in pretty much any state where he is competitive, meaning that he’ll be able to force McCain to spend time and money defending states that are normally solidly Republican.

There is, though, a potential political downside to this: Obama promised to stay inside the public financing system and committed to trying to find common ground with McCain on an agreement for the public financing of the campaign. The Obama campaign is trying to blame their decision to opt-out on the broken nature of the system and the McCain camp’s lack of interest in reaching a deal. This is a typical political move—the McCain campaign says the Obama campaign never seriously sought a deal—and is designed to limit the political damage of Obama going back on his earlier statement.

Obama is betting that voters won’t be that interested in a process story and that the political damage he suffers will be less than the advantage he gains. But McCain does have an opportunity here. If he can use this incident to paint Obama as just another politician—which he is trying to do—he could tie it into his general attack that Obama is all talk when it comes to changing politics.

To make the charge that Obama has broken his word hurt, McCain is going to need some help. Complaining about the decision too much himself, could be seen as whining. So, he is going to need reform groups and newspaper editorial board to get outraged about it and keep talking about it.

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Craig Strachan

June 20th, 2008 2:02am

Sure McCain could try and make it hurt. But Obama's going to raise up to half-a-billion dollars. That buys a lot of salve.

Ian C

June 20th, 2008 12:23pm

He will no doubt be throwing this into the ring as well for which any differential in funding raising should make no difference whatever.

"It is shocking to think that we have a presidential candidate who would make the private sector $5 poorer in order to make the government $1 richer.!!"

This analysis is worth a read at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121391705573990175.html?mod=djemITP WSJ Online.

Let's hope it helps journalists to engage their critical faculties a little harder. It certainly accounts for why Obama is not further ahead in the polls at this stage as alot of people are realising that he will be the most expensive American President ever.

Ganpat Ram

June 20th, 2008 5:19pm

Nothing will defeat Obama in 2008.

Since McCain has decided not to hit him on the Jeremiah Wright issue - why he sat in a church spewing anti-American hate drivel for over 20 years while taking the spewer for his family's spiritual mentor - Obama will get away with political murder, as he did with Clinton, who also played softly-softly on this cruicial issue.

Besides, McCain is proving stupid enough to play conservative rather than midlle-of-the-road, in a year when conservatism is utterly unpopular.

So we may take it that it will be Obama in November 2008.

All that will defeat him is his own dishonesty and the foolishness of his incredibly naive, feckless supporters.

Hillary was given a blessing in disguise when Obama rejected her (as it seems) for his Vice-presidential slot.

Now she can quietly sit the Obama disaster out and come back sweetly in 2012 to ask the disillusioned voters: "OK, babies. Had your fun and games with the slick Wonder Boy? Now how about giving Tough Auntie a try?"

David Lindsay

June 20th, 2008 6:14pm

Why doesn't McCain offer to match him? Surely he's not admitting that even a Democrat, hell even a black Democrat, hell even a black Democrat whom AIPAC doesn't like, can out-fundraise him? Is he?

TGF UKIP

June 20th, 2008 6:58pm

Sorry, James, but there really is nowt for McCain in this. It's an anorak's issue. Might have traction if all the millions were to be coming from Hollywood and N. York but so far it appears to be sub $100 contribs from "the little guys." Taking on vague and vapid "change" is tough as David Davis found over here in 2005.

McCain like RR is best as McCain - feisty and aggressive and willing, very willing to trade punches and arguments. If he does that and stops pussyfooting around, the Republican and Christian base will get behind him with funds and with activists.

digbydolben

June 22nd, 2008 3:27am

If Obama had been suckered by McCain into accepting the suicide pact with public funding, I'd have stopped believing in his toughness and political realism--i.e. in his ability to go toe-to-toe with the dictators and terrorists of the world.
The Republican Party was trying to get him to play like a Dukakis or a Gore and to put himself in a position to be "swift-boated" by the 527s that did Kerry in. He refused, and I'm glad: his is a campaign of a HUGE number of small donors, and McCain's a campaign of a SMALL number of PACS who donate millions by "bundling" in corporate headquarters. Who do you and the other so-called "conservatives" commenting here think you're kidding?