By Staff
Many voters have been skeptical of Sen. Barack Obama's vague campaign rhetoric for "change."
In promoting himself as a breath of fresh air, energizing politics and enticing new participants previously sitting on the sidelines, they probably didn't expect "change" to refer to his mind on whether or not to accept public funding.
"Change" also doesn't cover the "super ticket" some would like to see with Hillary Clinton.
That would be a huge mistake.
The Democrat going back on his word seems more like business as usual.
He had pledged that he would accept $85 million in taxpayer funds between September and the November election if his Republican opponent did, too, but that was before his record rate of fundraising coupled with fears that the GOP and Sen. John McCain will demonize him.
Obama decided Thursday to bypass public financing so he can raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash and spend to his heart's content.
"It's not an easy decision," the first-term Illinois senator said, "especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections," but "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."
So much for his carefully cultivated image as a different kind of politician who says what he means and means what he says while clamoring for a "new kind of politics."
McCain wants to use his decision as a litmus test for character, but the Arizona senator is somewhat hamstrung because his own self-styled reputation as a reformer is inconsistent with some of his words and deeds, such as all the lobbyists he had on staff while railing against special interests or reversing his criticism of President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, only to embrace them as a White House contender in 2008.
Obama "said he would stick to his word. He didn't," McCain nevertheless tried to make hay June 19.
Obama is the first presidential candidate from a major party to shun public funds for the general election since the Watergate era, when this system designed to limit money's influence was put in place in 1976.
President George W. Bush rejected public financing in the 2000 primaries.
To soften the blow from the money story and defuse grumbling that he's a hypocrite, Obama released his first general election ad, a full minute of biography, that began airing Friday in 18 states, including GOP strongholds.
We hoped the kind of "change" Obama had in mind ran more along the lines of the Doris Kearns Goodwin Abraham Lincoln biography, "Team of Rivals."
Announcing his candidacy at the Illinois state capitol, where Obama and Lincoln both served in the Legislature, Obama had drawn the comparison: "The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyers tells us that a different future is possible. He tells us that there is power in words … power in hope."
While comparing himself to one of the greatest presidents ever struck some as brazen, it seemed to signal how Obama might govern.
"Team of Rivals" refers to Lincoln assembling his Civil War Cabinet with Republicans who ran against him and disagreed with him vociferously.
To Obama, Lincoln's gesture symbolized "the lesson to not let your ego or grudges get in the way of hiring absolutely the best people. I don't think the American people are fundamentally ideological. They're pragmatic … and so I have an interest in casting a wide net, seeking out people with a wide range of expertise, including Republicans.
"I want people who are continually pushing me out of my comfort zone. I really admire the way the elder Bush negotiated the end of the cold war – with discipline, tough diplomacy and restraint. I'd be very interested in having those sorts of Republicans in my administration, especially people who can expedite a responsible and orderly conclusion to the Iraq war – and who know how to keep the hammer down on al-Qaeda."
We hope Obama hasn't changed his mind on that sentiment because the American people crave a Washington that functions again.