McCain Accepts Public Financing

The one argument made against John McCain's presidential bid that I thought held water was his inability to raise money. After the Republican decks were cleared, many (including yours truly) had hoped that he would do better. But that hasn't happened and now McCain has given in to public financing.

The feds will give you $84 million in September, after you’re formally nominated, for two months of campaigning. If you can’t raise more than $42 million a month on your own (or not so much more as to justify the time demands of holding relentless fundraising events), you take it. If you can, you don’t. How do those numbers break for Maverick? He pulled in $15.4 million in March, a little more than a third of what Kerry took in the month after he locked up the nomination four years ago. That is to say, it’s not just that he’s doing poorly vis-a-vis Obama — $72 million versus $236 million, if you can believe it — it’s that he’s doing poorly, period.

There is a certain irony to the man who championed campaign finance reform being beaten by it. Not that I'm enjoying it, mind you.