In my first post on this subject, I endorsed Barack Obama's recent decision to opt out of the public financing system. I noted that the move makes obvious sense from a tactical standpoint and further argued that, within Obama's fundraising apparatus, small donors have an unprecedented amount of influence -- resulting in a balance that any reformed public financing system should encourage. In this post, I'll address how McCain has gotten a pass from the media in the midst of this controversy.
John McCain's accusations of an egregious, public financing flip-flop on Obama's part have been broadcast far and wide in the past week. What has been infuriating about this latest controversy -- and McCain's central role in exacerbating it -- is the lack of acknowledgement by the press corps and the editorial boards of how McCain gamed the public finance system this election year.
In case you don't know the details of McCain's maneuvering, here's a helpful recap from Media Matters' Jamison Foser:
John McCain said he would take public financing for the Republican primaries. Then he used the promise of that public financing to help secure a loan for his campaign. Then, after he wrapped up the Republican nomination, he abruptly decided he did not want to be bound by the limits on campaign fundraising and spending that accompany public financing, so he announced that he had changed his mind.
But Federal Election Commission chairman David Mason sent McCain a letter saying that he cannot unilaterally opt out of the public financing system without FEC approval -- a letter the McCain campaign ignored. If McCain cannot opt out of the system unilaterally, he has broken the law by raising and spending funds in excess of legal limits, and continues to do so each day. Even if McCain isn't breaking the law, he has already broken his word and "reversed himself" on the question of whether he would take public funding for the primaries.
Referring to the national coverage, Foser writes: "I have seen no indication that a single reporter has asked McCain to reconcile his criticism of Obama with his own on-again, off-again relationship with the public financing system."
While this is obviously a much more significant issue at the national level, it's also been a problem in our local coverage.
By my count, the Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet has published eight blog posts on the issue since June 19 -- the day Obama announced his decision. Three of them simply repeated criticism of Obama from the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee. One featured a press release from the group Democracy 21 blasting Obama. Two others offered evidence of Obama's "evolution" on the issue. And here's how she headlined her post on the Meet the Press discussion between Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) last Sunday: "Graham on 'Meet the Press' on Obama broken pledge on public campaign financing: 'What he did by breaking his promise is reinforce every bad thing wrong with politics.' " Before cutting-and-pasting the MTP transcript, Sweet described Biden as "defending the undefendable for Mr. Obama."
Nowhere in Sweet's eight blog posts were McCain's campaign finance shenanigans mentioned. (Sweet has also commented on the controversy in repeated appearances on MSNBC.)
Meanwhile, over at The Beachwood Reporter last week, Steve Rhodes responded to the news of Obama's decision this way:
The spin from the Obama camp - particularly in its latest e-mail to supporters - is wholly disingenuous. A good rule of thumb: How would you feel if the situation was reversed? In other words, Obamaphiles would be lambasting John McCain to high heaven right now if he pulled this move.
Say what you will about the Obama camp's spin, McCain pulled his own "move" on public financing, possibly in violation of the law. A lot of folks on the left have cried foul. And the media has paid little attention to the matter, while repeating his attacks on Obama.
Finally, on Friday's edition of Chicago Tonight, Chicago Magazine contributing editor Bob Reed said that, fortunately for Obama, "not that many people care about campaign finance -- maybe with the exception of John McCain":
To many in the media, McCain will always be the lonely crusader for campaign finance reform and comprehensive immigration policy. He'll always be the maverick who stood up to the Bush administration on tax cuts and torture. Nevermind that he has compromised his integrity on every one of those issues.
In related news, one of the reasons McCain has escaped scrutiny on his gaming of the public financing system is that the FEC board has been unable to function due to a six-month disagreement in the Senate over one of Bush's nominees. That impasse came to end yesterday, as the five new commissioners were confirmed by the Senate. Hopefully, we'll be hearing more about the legality of McCain's actions in the near future -- from a fully-functioning FEC, if not the media.
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