Obama foregoes public funding

Today, a anonymous source close to the Obama camp announced that the candidate hopeful will join Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in turning down public funding for both his primary campaign, and if nominated for the general election. This appears to be a sign of confidence from the campaign's fundraising team.

In the last presidential election, both Bush and Kerry declined public funding for the primary but accepted $74.5 million each for the general election.

There are also reports that Obama will try to quit smoking before the formal announcement of his campaign urged on by his wife Michelle.

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (C) speaks at a news conference in the Capitol in Washington on a plan for U.S. troop de-escalation in Iraq February 6, 2007. Flanking Obama are Representatives Mike Thompson, (D-CA) (L) and Patrick Murphy (D-PA). REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES) via Yahoo News.