Barack Obama has become the first major candidate ever to forgo public financing. He expressed distrust of the public finance system, saying it put him at a disadvantage to Senator McCain. Obama also criticized McCain for his taking public financing:
“The public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system,” he said. “John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. And we’ve already seen that he’s not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.” (NY Times)
