Posted by Jed Lewison on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 2:38 PM Pacific

Who needs context anyway?

It's too bad the press is utterly incapable of offering (or unwilling to offer) context. The point here is that John McCain flip-flopped on the 2008 public financing system in February, yet there was zero outrage from the media. Here's a post I wrote about the issue before Super Tuesday:

Mon Feb  4,  9:56 PM
McCain opts out of public financing system

This is good news for Barack Obama, who has said that if the Republican nominee abides by spending limits, he would too. Obama has far more ability to raise money than McCain, and now that McCain has abandoned the primary campaign public financing system, Obama shouldn't even consider abiding by the general election public finance system.

No public funds for McCain By: Jeanne Cummings Feb 4, 2008 08:47 PM EST

With the Republican presidential nomination within reach, John McCain is reshaping his campaign to press on without public financing that could limit his spring spending, senior advisers say.

McCain's flip-flop was far more nefarious than Obama's and as Joe Sudbay explains, might even have been illegal.

In simple terms, what he did was enter the public financing system during the primary with the intent of withdrawing from it if he determined that he could raise more money outside the system than in. In other words, he got the best of both worlds: the potential for vast sums from private interests, with a guaranteed base amount of money from the public.

Mark Schmitt explains it in more detail.

Who needs context anyway?

It's too bad the press is utterly incapable of offering (or unwilling to offer) context. The point here is that John McCain flip-flopped on the 2008 public financing system in February, yet there was zero outrage from the media. Here's a post I wrote about the issue before Super Tuesday:

Mon Feb  4,  9:56 PM
McCain opts out of public financing system

This is good news for Barack Obama, who has said that if the Republican nominee abides by spending limits, he would too. Obama has far more ability to raise money than McCain, and now that McCain has abandoned the primary campaign public financing system, Obama shouldn't even consider abiding by the general election public finance system.

No public funds for McCain By: Jeanne Cummings Feb 4, 2008 08:47 PM EST

With the Republican presidential nomination within reach, John McCain is reshaping his campaign to press on without public financing that could limit his spring spending, senior advisers say.

McCain's flip-flop was far more nefarious than Obama's and as Joe Sudbay explains, might even have been illegal.

In simple terms, what he did was enter the public financing system during the primary with the intent of withdrawing from it if he determined that he could raise more money outside the system than in. In other words, he got the best of both worlds: the potential for vast sums from private interests, with a guaranteed base amount of money from the public.

Mark Schmitt explains it in more detail.

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