Patrick Ruffini at The Next Right has an excellent post up about why it was such a huge mistake for Obama refuse public financing of his campaign.
No, the problem is not so much that he lied about taking public funding before he decided not to (though that should be a problem for people who care about stuff like honesty, integrity, good judgement, etc. — never mind, I guess he doesn’t have a problem with his core consituents…).
The bigger problem, as explained by Rufini, is that it was a stupid mistake that is costing Obama at least $84 million:
Therein lies the nub of the problem. McCain’s $84 million in public finance is just the tip of the iceberg. The real action is at McCain-Palin Victory 2008, the joint fundraising committee that includes the RNC, state parties in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennylvania, and McCain’s GELAC (or compliance) committee. According to their website, Victory can raise up to $67,800 per donor (and presumably, up to $135,600 per couple).
[snip]
Yes, Obama is theoretically capturing more money into his committee by going private, but at a massive opportunity cost. All of his fundraising energies from now until the election will be spent fundraising for an account with a $2,300 fundraising limit, vs. McCain and Palin, who will be fundraising for a committee with a $67,800 limit (and presumably, $135,400 for couples).
Obama has essentially turned down $84 million in free money in exchange for nothing…
And this is the guy who wants to fix our economy (note — Obama has no intention of “fixing the economy”. Obama just wants to raise, raise, and then raise taxes again)? He can’t even figure out simple math problems like funding his campaign.
I’m still waiting for any evidence of intelligence emanating from B-HO, or his multitude of advisers.
All I have seen from them, in the past two years, is living proof of an old expression.
Left by No2Liberals on September 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pm