I don't get the sense that the conservative base was all that offended. It was more in the line of "John, you'd slept with the dog. So you're "disappointed" you've fleas, huh?"
This Old Fart v. Gray Lady tiff smacks of kitsch. Heh - now McCain is whining over BCFR rules!! Ugh!
"Heh - now McCain is whining over BCFR rules!!"
According to the March 2, 2007 New York Times:
"Senator John McCain joined Senator Barack Obama on Thursday in promising to accept a novel fund-raising truce if each man wins his party's presidential nomination.
"The promises by Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, are an effort to resuscitate part of the ailing public financing system for presidential campaigns. . . .
"On Thursday, a spokesman for Mr. McCain said that he would take up Mr. Obama on a proposal for an accord between the two major party nominees to rely just on public financing for the general election." [External Link]
Obama has since decided not to abide by the accord he proposed. McCain therefore will also forgo the limitations of public financing in an effort to stay financially competitive in the race. How is that whining?
Bruce, you're quoting from the Times. :-]
His campaign has been actively seeking an end-run - because he's almost out of cash on the home stretch. There are a lot of zeros between here and November, and his campaign is scrambling to find 'em. Scrambling *and* publicly complaining.
SO... It's Let's Make A Deal! Man, this guy has such a tolerance for fleas.
Ran, I think your criticism is misplaced.
The public financing of campaigns is not part of McCain Feingold; it predates it. McCain was a guest of Hanoi when Congress enacted it.
The NYT article is a year old, before either McCain or Obama were front-runners, and is accurate. The deal was that if Obama and McCain got their respective party nominations they would mutually agree to use public financing.
Obama, who has significantly better financial resources, has since backed out of the deal. Why should McCain handicap himself and abide by an agreement the other party has already stated they will not respect?
Under the circumstances, McCain would be doing betraying his obligation to the GOP, which is to mount an effective campaign for President, if he handicapped his campaign by using the significantly reduced resources of public financing.