CALL, COLLECT Obama works the Washington,” the groups wrote in
phones at his campaign’s local head-
the joint statement. “President-elect
quarters in Kansas City, Mo.
Obama, for example, said during the
campaign, ‘to fi x healthcare we have
“At the end of the day, he was able to fi x Washington.’
to make this race all on Republican “In order to accomplish this goal,
turf, and he was able to do it by apply- the overriding priority on our reform
ing leverage via these dollars,” Evan agenda for the 111th Congress is to
Tracey, president of CMAG, told the repair the presidential public fi nanc-
McClatchy news service. ing system and to create a new public
Obama’s campaign bought large fi nancing system for congressional
blocks of television time in Chicago, races.” The Brennan Center for
where stations reach into north- Justice, the Campaign Legal
west Indiana. He did the same in Center, Common Cause,
Washington, which reaches north- Democracy 21, the League
ern Virginia. Obama topped McCain of Women Voters, Public
in TV spending by $1.6 million in Citizen, and U.S. PIRG
Denver, $2.6 million in Charlotte, joined forces to issue the
“It’s
N.C.; $8.9 million in Miami; $7 mil- statement.
a liberal
lion in Tampa, Fla.; and $1.7 million “Both candidates ran on
in Chicago, Tracey told McClatchy. an agenda of changing the
Democrat
The campaign even advertised in way Washington works. It’s
who’s just
Alaska before McCain picked Gov. great rhetoric, but here’s
taken a
Sarah Palin as his running mate. how you do it,” Meredith
The complaint incorporated In a grand spending fi nale, the McGehee, policy director at
stick of
reporting from Newsmax and other Obama campaign spent more than the Campaign Legal Center,
dynamite
news organizations. $5 million to air a 30-minute prime- told The Hill. “This is what
to our
“Their responses to FEC inquiries time infomercial on six networks. it’s going to take. This is
have often been inadequate and late,” More than 33 million viewers saw the where it starts. If you don’t
campaign
RNC chief counsel Sean Cairncross program, according to Nielsen Media fundamentally deal with
fi nance
says. Research. the way money works in
framework.”
The entire campaign effort made this town, you’re not really
Change You’d Obama’s rejection of public fi nancing changing how Washington works.”
Better Believe In
look brilliant, if only a bit dishonest. But Tracey said Obama’s suc-
With just $80 million in pub- cess removes any real incentive for
Despite the scrutiny and censure lic fi nancing, most past presidential Democrats to strengthen public cam-
of the FEC, and formal complaints campaigns had to focus on fewer than paign fi nancing laws.
by the Heritage Foundation, Barack a dozen so-called swing states. Such As it stands, any Republican seek-
Obama won the White House con- constraints did not affect Obama. ing to challenge Obama four years
vincingly and with precious little pub- Lawrence Jacobs, director of the from now “will have to look in the mir-
lic scrutiny of where all the money University of Minnesota’s Center for ror and ask the question, ‘Can I raise
came from in the nation’s best-fund- the Study of Politics and Governance, $600 million?’”
ed campaign ever. told the Associated Press that the Larry Sabato, a political scientist
While the various political factions extra money allowed Obama to “set at the University of Virginia, predicts
fi ght over the propriety of his fund- up operations in lots of states that that federal funding “will remain as a
raising, one thing is certain, Obama you usually haven’t seen them in, safety net for underfunded ‘populist’
used his huge war chest to batter the some of the Southern states and candidates” but won’t be an option
GOP and win the Oval Offi ce. places like Indiana where Democrats for those who want a serious chance
According to the Campaign Media haven’t won in decades.” of winning.”
Analysis Group (CMAG) in Virginia, Even liberal groups seem a bit While Democrats traditionally
Obama spent $250 million on televi- uncomfortable with the scope of criticize “big money Republicans,”
sion ads — $80 million more than Obama’s funding effort. Two days after Jacobs adds, “the reality is that it’s
John McCain and the Republican the election, seven left-leaning groups a liberal Democrat who’s just taken
Party. Much of that money was spent co-authored a letter urging Obama and a stick of dynamite to our campaign
in traditionally Republican states congressional Democrats to create a fi nance framework.”
such as Florida, Georgia, Indiana, new public fi nancing system. Obama “is not mortal,” Jacobs
Montana, North Carolina, North “A central theme of the 2008 says. “He’s a fundraising god. It’s
Dakota, and Virginia. presidential race was the need to fi x like biblical in scale.”
DECEMBER 2008 / NEWSMAX
55
0046-Cover Story SUNDAY.indd 5546-Cover Story SUNDAY.indd 55 111/10/08 5:43:38 PM1/10/08 5:43:38 PM
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