Just as wealthy Democrats prepare to mount a $40 million anti-McCain campaign, Sen. Barack Obama said this morning in Indiana that he planned to reach out to Sen. John McCain in advance of the general election to seek reform in the "creaky" public financing system.
"I would like to see a system preserved and I intend to, if I am the nominee, to have conversations with Senator McCain about how to move forward in a way that doesn't allow third parties to overwhelm the system," he said. "Everyone would benefit from a system where you didn't have third parties raining down millions of dollars, whether or not we can pull it off, we'll see."
Sen. Obama has said he intended to accept public financing if the Republican candidate did the same. Partly through smaller donations, Obama has been able to amass a campaign war chest of nearly $200 million, smashing old records. (But only partly). At a fundraiser on Tuesday night he . . .
. . .seemed to hint at backing away from his earlier public financing pledge, saying that his system of raising money—driven largely by the internet—amounted to a "parallel public financing system."
"We have created a parallel financing system where the American people decide if they want to support a campaign, they can get on the Internet and finance it," he told donors. "And they will have as much access and influence over the course and direction of our campaign that has traditionally reserved for the wealthy and the powerful."
Under public financing rules, the spending cap in the general election is $84.1 million. McCain has said previously that he intended to accept public financing and has accused Obama of trying to wiggle out of his pledge to do the same.
Obama remains in Indiana, where recent polls show his May 6 match-up with Sen. Hillary Clinton tightening, until Saturday. Answering a question about President Bill Clinton's recent suggestion that the press overplayed Sen. Clinton's statements about her Bosnian trip, Obama said, "I'll let the Clintons explain that."
Nia-Malika Henderson in Indianapolis
UPDATE: McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds released this statement in response to Obama's comments this morning: "We will always welcome an open discussion with Barack Obama, but he has clearly committed to public financing in the general election should he win his party’s nomination, and we expect him to keep his word. Any hedging or clever language from Senator Obama seems more like something you would read in a predatory home-loan, not the 'Audacity of Hope.' "