Election 2008; Swept Away by a Tide of Dollars; Campaigns Find They Can't Afford to Take Public Financing

Summary

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Washington - The 2008 campaign begins this winter amid the ruins of the presidential public finance system, which for 30 years has offered candidates public money if they agree to limit their own spending.

Some are mourning the system's demise and trying to bring it back to life. Some are not. But there's little dispute that the system no longer works the way it was meant to because candidates have less and less incentive to participate.

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Extract

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Election 2008; Swept Away by a Tide of Dollars; Campaigns Find They Can't Afford to Take Public Financing

"Anybody who stays in the system cannot be taken seriously. . . . It's tantamount to waving the white flag and giving up," says Joe Trippi, who ran Democrat Howard Dean's presidential campaign in 2004.

"My own view is there will be a candidate in 2008 who will probably raise $500 million," Trippi says.

In a world where front-runners can envision a $300 million or $500 million war chest, most strategists think it's suicidal for any candidate to accept the spending ...

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