Reasons Not to Accept Public Funding

Although one would think that a publicly-funded campaign fits right into Sen. Barack Obama's agenda, there are good reasons he might want to avoid taking such a route.

First of all, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has raised much more money than its Democratic counterpart, the DNC. A significant amount of this money has come from special interest groups, PACs, lobbyists, etc.

Also, John McCain can't stop independent 527 groups from campaigning on his behalf with special interest money.

So, if Barack accepts public funding at this time, it may put him at a disadvantage in the end.

The Obama campaign sent out an email today illustrating why one has to look past just the numbers from McCain's fundraising efforts.

In the excitement of the past few days, there's some news you may have missed.

John McCain and the Republican National Committee released their fundraising numbers for May, and we've got our work cut out for us.

The McCain campaign raised $21 million, which will be combined with $23.7 million raised in partnership with the Republican National Committee.

That's nearly $45 million dollars in one month -- money that will be used to attack Barack Obama and support John McCain's effort to extend the policies of George W. Bush for another four years.

We need to respond quickly and show that we are ready to take on Senator McCain in the general election.

You can help by encouraging a fellow supporter to take the next step and own a piece of this campaign.

Make a donation of $25 today and match the gift of a first-time donor. You can even choose to exchange a note with them about why you support Barack:

https://donate.barackobama.com/promise

Even more disturbing than the amount of money John McCain and the RNC have raised is the way they raised it.

They depend on donations from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. And top officials in McCain's campaign have been asking these donors to write checks and raise money from their clients to the tune of $50,000 each.

Barack is doing things differently.

This campaign has never accepted donations from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. And yesterday the Democratic National Committee announced that they will follow the same restriction.

We are going to compete in the general election the same way we have all along -- by depending on a movement of more than 1.5 million people giving only what they can afford.

Make a $25 donation now and help bring a first-time donor into this campaign:

https://donate.barackobama.com/promise

I'm sure you've heard that Hillary Clinton is suspending her campaign and announcing her support for Barack. We all owe Senator Clinton -- and her supporters -- a great deal of respect for running an incredible campaign and strengthening our party in all 50 states.

But John McCain and his allies are not missing a beat in their campaign to continue the Bush agenda.

As the presumptive nominee, John McCain had a three-month head start to build his party and raise money. But we can't afford to let him have the advantage.

For all his talk of reform, John McCain is willing to rely on huge donations from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.

We have a historic opportunity to run a new kind of campaign and elect a new kind of leader.

Thank you for your support and for being a part of this movement,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America