McCain Knocks Obama Over Public Financing

GOP Frontrunner Suggests Rival Engaging In Washington Doublespeak On Issue

(AP)  John McCain accused Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama of engaging in Washington doublespeak over accepting public financing for the general election as the likely GOP nominee tried to turn a money issue into a character test.

"We either keep our word or we don't keep our word. I intend to keep my word to the American people," McCain said Wednesday, pressing the line of criticism anew a day after delivering a blistering critique of the Illinois senator as both won their party primaries in Wisconsin.

"I think the American people would expect him to hold to that commitment, especially if we want to bring about change," McCain added.

In an opinion piece published in USA Today on Wednesday morning, Obama wrote that he wants to work toward a spending agreement with the Republican Party's nominee.

"I propose a meaningful agreement in good faith that results in real spending limits," Obama wrote. He laid out a series of conditions, including, perhaps, limiting how much money McCain can spend for the general election while the race for the Democratic nomination continues.

"That's Washington doublespeak," McCain responded. "I committed to public financing. He committed to public financing. It's not any more complicated than that. I'll keep my word, and I want him to keep his."

Obama's spokesman, Bill Burton, hit back: "John McCain is in no place to question anyone on pledges when he abandoned the latest campaign finance reform efforts in order to run for the Republican nomination and went back on his commitment to take public financing for the primary election this year."

As Obama has lengthened his lead in the Democratic race, McCain has increasingly taken the one-term Illinois senator to task.

McCain, a four-term senator has started raising questions about Obama's experience level, seeming lack of foreign policy credentials, and, now, his character. In that process, McCain is espousing some arguments similar to those made by Hillary Rodham Clinton against Obama.

Obama's campaign, in turn, has started responding in force to the GOP's nominee-in-waiting.

In a conference call with reporters early Wednesday, Obama foreign policy adviser Susan Rice accused McCain of "misrepresenting and distorting" Obama's positions on Pakistan.

McCain, for his part, went on offense by again raising the spat over taxpayer financing of the general election. McCain clearly sought to raise a larger question: If Obama doesn't keep a promise on this issue, how can the public trust what he says he'll do in the White House?

A year ago, both McCain and Obama indicated that they would accept public financing for the general election if the other party's nominee did as well.

But Obama, whose fundraising has brought in record amounts of primary money, has hedged that position over the past week, giving McCain openings to pounce.

Last week, Obama said it would be "presumptuous of me to say now that I'm locking myself into something when I don't even know if the other side is going to agree to it."

McCain gave Clinton a pass on the issue, given that she never indicated she would forgo public financing.

A leading advocate of limits on campaign finances, McCain is turning down government matching funds for the primary to free himself to spend more money as he prepares for a general election contest.

As for accepting public money for the general election, McCain said: "I obviously would have to reevaluate if Sen. Obama or Sen. Clinton does not make that commitment."

Each major party candidate could get about $85 million in public funds for the general election, but they would not be allowed to raise any other money. Such a step would clearly give the advantage to McCain, who dislikes fundraising, and would hinder Obama and his widespread fundraising apparatus. Obama's campaign has said it raised a whopping $32 million in January.

Both candidates would have to rely on outside groups and on the national parties to supplement their spending if they accepted public financing. The Republican National Committee has been the only national GOP organization to out-raise its Democratic counterpart. But political finance experts say Obama, if he's the nominee, could significantly buttress the Democratic National Committee's fundraising.

[irishbitch12]

Mccain is baiting obama on public financing for the presedential campaign because he has a 4 million dollar line of credit and he promised to pay it back with the public funds hw would receive. Straight talker or bull sh-i-tter

[garsh548]

I hope the McCains don''t turn this election into a White vs. Blacks. This is history in the making, I am an American and I want to be a part of this moment.

[bareed1226]

This guy is calling out Obama about finance issues... PLEASE..

1989, the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association of Irvine, Calif., collapsed. Lincoln''''''''s chairman, Charles H. Keating Jr., was faulted for the thrift''''''''s failure. Keating, however, told the House Banking Committee that the FHLBB and its former chief Edwin J. Gray were pursuing a vendetta against him. Gray testified that several U.S. senators had approached him and requested that he ease off on the Lincoln investigation. It came out that these senators had been beneficiaries of $1.3 million (collective total) in campaign contributions from Keating.

This allegation set off a series of investigations by the California government, the United States Department of Justice, and the Senate Ethics Committee. The ethics committee''''''''s investigation focused on five senators: Alan Cranston (D-CA); Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ); John Glenn (D-OH); John McCain (R-AZ); and Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI), who became known as the Keating Five.
After months of testimony revealed that all five senators acted improperly to differing degrees, the senators continually said they were following the status quo of campaign funding practices. The only member of the Keating Five still in the U.S. Senate is John McCain.... The man with all the experience...

[watcher269-2009]

Actually, most of these Bushed! segments are about lying liars, aren%u2019t they? Continuing to track the scandals du jour that make up life in BushWorld, the first story up is Bush%u2019s touting of his increases to his global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria. The only problem is that the %u201Cincrease%u201D that Bush wants Congress to approve is actually a 40% decrease from last year%u2019s Congressional-instigated funding.

Then there is the story of the infamous border fence being built along the US / Mexico border, ostensibly to prevent illegal immigration. Many residents near the border have been grumbling about the fence going through their land, but there%u2019s one Texas resident that isn%u2019t worried at all, because the border fence will stop at his property: R. L. Hunt. I%u2019m sure the fact that he%u2019s a oil billionaire, who not only donated money to the Bush campaigns but also helped fund the upcoming presidential library and sits on the board for Halliburton had nothing to do with it.

[watcher269-2009]

Worse than Watergate: Bush scores lowest presidential approval rating EVER!

[watcher269-2009]

WOW - can you believe the Hypocrisy from the Republicans?

Bay Buchanan said this after calling the NY Times/McCain love fest story a smear/hit job on CNN to Anderson Cooper:

Bay: This is not the Democratic Party, this is a party of values. We assume our candidates have been loyal to their family.

&^&*%#@!___Sorry, I%u2014just fell off my chair from laughter. Let%u2019s ask her about David Vitter and Larry Craig and Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani and. Bay, who was supporting the Mitt Romney campaign%u2014 feels it would have had an impact on the primary%u2026.David Gergen says it%u2019s a red herring that the Times held onto the story for political reasons and then he hit her on the family value meme by reminding her of the Mark Foley story. She just shrugged it off%u2026.haha

The Washington Post has a name and it%u2019s John Weaver%u2014a very close friend to McCain:

Aides to Sen. John McCain confronted a female telecommunications lobbyist in late 1999 and asked her to distance herself from the senator during the presidential campaign he was about to launch, according to one of McCain%u2019s longest-serving political strategists.

John Weaver, who served as McCain%u2019s closest confidant until leaving his current campaign last year, said he met with Vicki Iseman at the Center Cafe in Union Station and urged her to stay away from McCain. Association with a lobbyist would undermine his image as an opponent of special interests, aides had concluded%u2026

[greenfun]

kansas1946-Exactly, that is the criteria I would use to elect Senator Clinton. If that is the criteria you used to choose Obama over Clinton, I am pretty certain George Bush can beat you on any standardized test.

[smirk5]

It''s pretty funny that the "straight-talker" McCain that denounces pork was porking a lobbyist.

[candide777]

What''''s to knock? Each said they would do it--if the other made a move first. Neither is making the first move--so what is the deal? Get Buck--McCAin --either put up or shut up-then if you go for public funds and Obama does not--then you can talk--before then, you are trying to shout you want the other guy to blink first. LOL
Posted by b-easy63 at 10:44 PM : Feb 20, 2008

Mmmmm, you should really smoke just a little more crack before you start typing. You might make some sense then.

[fairandbal]

This article is funny. McCain was in bed with a lobbyist (literally) in 2000 and HE has the audacity to criticize Obama''s fund raising. Obama is getting money from real people, not lobbyists.
McCain is a fraud and should be rejected by even his own party if they ever intend to be in power again.

[kansas1946]

McCain is starting to look good to me. I am sick of all these vacuous Obama followers. If he offers you Kool aide-go ahead and drink it.


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Posted by greenfun at 11:02 PM : Feb 20, 2008
**************************************

So, vote for McCain. It''s a free country, but I usually try to vote for someone based on their qualifications, their leadership ablilities, their intellegence, and their skills. I have rarely voted against someone just because they were popular and well liked.

[kansas1946]

If there was a secret radical Muslim in the white house as president what would He CHANGE?
********************************

Oh, for God''s sake, grow up.

[kansas1946]

"We either keep our word or we don''t keep our word. I intend to keep my word to the American people," McCain said Wednesday, pressing the line of criticism anew a day after delivering a blistering critique of the Illinois senator as both won their party primaries in Wisconsin.
***********************************************

Yeah, right John. What a hoot. This after you just voted against a bill that makes water-boarding illegal. You probably don''t remember, but you recently said that water-boarding was torture (which automatically makes it illegal) but then to make the Republican sadists happy during the primary, you vote against the bill. You are not honest, you are not a leader, and you have lost any credibility that you ever head.

[candide777]

McCain is simply another tool (like Bush) being used by the repuglican party to commit fraud one more time on this country.

[lorinkundert]

While were at it how about we ask McCain about Keating.

[lorinkundert]

"Republican presidential candidate John McCain said President Bush should veto a measure that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects."

and to think the GOP wants to elect this Bush clone to drag this country down.

[greenfun]

McCain is starting to look good to me. I am sick of all these vacuous Obama followers. If he offers you Kool aide-go ahead and drink it.

[b-easy63]

What''s to knock? Each said they would do it--if the other made a move first. Neither is making the first move--so what is the deal? Get Buck--McCAin --either put up or shut up-then if you go for public funds and Obama does not--then you can talk--before then, you are trying to shout you want the other guy to blink first. LOL

[notopennshut]

Let''s forget about his private "affair" with the lobbyist if indeed there was one. Let''s look at what he did for the lobbyist and what kind of benefits were accorded due to his intevention. There is no smoke without fire, and for McCain now to be holier than thou, that takes a lot of chutzpah. He can speak with forked-tongue, listen to his words but do not see what he had done. What about campaign finance now? Let''s fill the coffer of the lobbyists first-after all that was 8 years ago and should not matter today. Ethics?? Where art thou?? Gosh, I really "love this country!"

[nickyscrews]

obama should tell his bride to shut her mouth !!!