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Mediamatters.Org - As Media
Matters for America noted, in a February 29 post on MSNBC.com's
First Read political blog, NBC News political director Chuck Todd, deputy
political director Mark Murray, and political researcher Domenico Montanaro
wrote: "We've noticed today the [Sen. John] McCain/FEC stories -- that
McCain very well might have to abide by spending limits before the GOP
convention -- are starting to roll in. But why is this only now starting to get
more traction, compared with all the stories about [Sen. Barack] Obama waffling
on his pledge to accept public funds in the general?" The post continued:
"For one thing, the McCain story is much more complicated; certainly the
Obama pledge hedge was an easier one to tell. But is this starting to become a
problem for McCain? At the very least, it makes it MUCH more difficult to
criticize Obama for waffling on public funds." But NBC's Nightly News and the CBS Evening News have yet to cover the
loan, although they have both repeatedly reported on Obama's decision not
to take public financing for the general election and McCain's earlier
attacks on Obama for not committing to public financing.
First Read's summation of the story
-- "that McCain very well might have to abide by spending limits before
the GOP convention" -- stems from a loan agreement the McCain campaign signed
during the primary season that could have forced him to remain in the race --
even if he had no chance of winning -- in order to be eligible for public
matching funds to repay the loan. In a February 19 letter, Federal Election Commission (FEC)
chairman David Mason took the position that McCain cannot legally opt
out of public financing for the primary season without FEC approval and, in the
same letter, asked the McCain campaign to expand upon its assertion that it had
not "pledged the certification of Matching Payment funds as security for
private financing," citing provisions of the loan agreement, the
associated security agreement, and a modification to those agreements. In the
letter, Mason cited a prior FEC advisory opinion stating that a candidate is
allowed to withdraw from the matching funds program so long as "the
candidate ... had not pledged the certification of Matching Payment Program funds
'as security for private financing.' " If McCain is not
allowed to withdraw from the public financing system and if he is found to have
knowingly raised and spent money beyond the public financing limits, his
actions "could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in
prison," according to The Washington Post.
Earlier, on August 28, 2007, the FEC announced: "John
McCain today became the first 2008 presidential candidate to be declared
eligible by the Federal Election Commission (FEC/Commission) to receive federal
matching funds" for the 2008 primary. As part of the packet McCain
submitted for eligibility, he wrote in an August 13, 2007, letter that he was
"a candidate seeking to become eligible to receive Presidential primary
matching funds."
Notwithstanding the question articulated
on First Read -- "why is this only now starting to get more
traction" -- according to a Media
Matters search* of the Nexis and Factiva news databases, NBC has not
covered the loan on Nightly News.
Nor has the CBS Evening News covered the loan.
By contrast, on the February 22 edition
of ABC's World News with Charles
Gibson, chief Washington
correspondent George Stephanopoulos reported:
[T]hey
received a letter from the chairman of the Federal Election Commission saying
that he believes that John McCain has to stay in the public financing system.
Here's the import of that. If he stays in, he's limited to spending $54 million
between now and September. He's already spent $49 million. That would leave him
only $5 million for the next five or six months. The Democratic nominee is
likely to have 10 times that.
At
issue is whether he used -- John McCain used those public funds as collateral
when he got a loan earlier this year for his campaign. The McCain campaign disputes that. They say they're going to be able to
answer this ruling. They're confident they're going to be able to go on. But
this letter from the FEC chairman does put that into question.
On the February 23 edition of ABC's
World News Saturday,
correspondent Liz Marlantes again reported on Mason's letter (although
she did not note the loan): "This week, he [McCain] took another hit on
that front after he received a letter from the Federal Election Commission
saying he may not be allowed to withdraw from the public financing system, and
then said he would do so anyway."
While ignoring the
issue of McCain's loan, NBC's Nightly News covered the issue of whether Obama
would take public financing and McCain's attacks over general-election public
financing on February 15, February 20, June 19, June 21, and June 22, and the CBS Evening News
covered Obama and general-election public financing on February 20, June 19,
and June 25.
The following is a chronology of events
surrounding the loan that Nightly News and
the CBS Evening News have yet to
report on in the context of the loan:
November
14, 2007
The McCain campaign took out a loan from
the Fidelity & Trust Bank in Bethesda,
Maryland. Under the original loan agreement, if McCain were to
withdraw from the matching funds program before the end of 2007 and if he were
then to finish more than 10 percentage points behind the winner of the January
8 New Hampshire primary, McCain would have been required to "remain an
active political candidate," to reapply for matching funds, and to
"grant to Lender, as additional collateral for the loan, a first priority
perfected security interest in and to all of Borrower's right, title and
interest in and to the public matching fund program." In other words, the
agreement could have required McCain to remain in the race, regardless of
whether his candidacy was viable, in order to be eligible for matching funds to
pay back the loan.
From the John McCain 2008
Inc. Business Loan Agreement:
Additional
Requirement. Borrower and Lender agree that if Borrower withdraws from the
public matching fund program by the end of December 2007, but John McCain then
does not win the New Hampshire primary or place at least within 10 percentage
points of the winner of the New Hampshire Primary, Borrower will cause John
McCain to remain an active political candidate and Borrower will, within thirty
(30) days of the New Hampshire Primary (i) reapply for public matching funds,
(ii) grant to Lender, as additional collateral for the loan, a first priority
perfected security interest in and to all of Borrower's right, title and
interest in and to the public matching fund program, and (iii) execute and
deliver to Lender such documents, instruments and agreements as Lender may
require with respect to the foregoing.
[...]
COMPLIANCE
WITH THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION'S MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM. Borrower agrees
and covenants with Lender that while this Agreement is in effect, Borrower
shall not exceed overall or state spending limits set forth in the Federal
Matching Funds Program, if applicable.
[...]
STATUS
OF CURRENTLY HELD CERTIFICATIONS OF MATCHING FUNDS. Borrower and Lender agree
that any certifications of matching fund eligibility currently possessed by
Borrower or obtained before January 1, 2008 and the right of John McCain 2008,
Inc. and John McCain to receive payment under these certifications are not collateral
under the Commercial Security Agreement for this Loan.
[...]
DEFINITIONS.
[...]
Collateral. The word "Collateral" means all property and assets
granted as collateral security for a Loan. [...] It is expressly understood and
agreed that "collateral" specifically excludes any certifications
of matching fund eligibility currently possessed by Borrower or obtained before
January 1, 2008.
From the loan's Commercial Security Agreement:
COLLATERAL
DESCRIPTION. The word "Collateral" as used in this Agreement means
the following described property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired,
whether now existing or hereafter arising, and wherever located in which Grantor is giving to
Lender a security interest for the payment of the indedbtedness and performance
of all other obligations under the Note and this Agreement:
[...]
Grantor and Lendor agree that any certifications of matching fund eligibility,
including related rights, currently possessed by Grantor or obtained before
January 1, 2008, are not themselves being pledged as security for the
indebtedness and are not themselves collateral for the indebtedness or subject
to this Security Agreement. Grantor agrees not to sell, transfer, convey,
pledge, hypothecate or otherwise transfer to any person or entity any of his
present or future right, title and interest in and to the public matching fund
program or any certifications of matching fund eligibility, including related
rights, issued with respect thereto without the prior written consent of
Lender.
December
17, 2007
The loan was modified but still included a
provision that could have required McCain under certain conditions to
"remain an active political candidate and ... reapply for public matching
funds" in order to be able to repay the loan. The loan agreement was modified as follows:
Without
limiting anything set forth in this Modification to the contrary, certain
provisions of the Loan Agreement are hereby modified as follows:
(a) The
paragraph entitled "Additional Requirement" set forth in the
Affirmative Covenants section of the Loan Agreement is hereby deleted in its
entirety and the following substituted in lieu thereof:
"Additional Requirement. Borrower
and Lender agree that if Borrower withdraws from the public matching funds
program but John McCain then does not win the next primary or caucus in which
he is active (which can be any primary or caucus held the same day) or does not
place at least within 10 percentage points of the winner of that primary or
caucus, Borrower will cause John McCain to remain an active political candidate
and Borrower will, within thirty (30) days of said primary or caucus (i)
reapply for public matching funds, (ii) grant to Lender, as additional
collateral for the Loan, a first priority perfected security interest in and to
all of Borrower's right, title and interest in and to the public matching funds
program, and (iii) execute and deliver to Lender such documents, instruments
and agreements as Lender may require with respect to the foregoing. Borrower
and Lender agree that Borrower will provide oral or written notice to Lender at
least 24 hours before notice of withdrawal from the public matching funds
program is provided by Borrower or John McCain to the Federal Election
Commission."
(b) The
paragraph entitled "COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION'S
MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM" set forth in the Loan Agreement is hereby deleted
in its entirety and the following substituted in lieu thereof:
"COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL ELECTION
COMMISSION'S MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM. Borrower agrees
and covenants with Lender that while this Agreement is in effect, Borrower shall
not, without Lender's prior written consent, exceed overall or state spending
limits imposed under the Federal Matching Funds Program, irrespective of
whether Borrower is subject to such program as of any applicable date of
determination."
(c) The
paragraph entitled "STATUS OF CURRENTLY HELD CERTIFICATIONS OF MATCHING
FUNDS" set forth in the Loan Agreement is hereby deleted in its entirety
and the following substituted in lieu thereof:
"STATUS OF CURRENTLY HELD
CERTIFICATIONS OF MATCHING FUNDS. Borrower and
Lender agree that any certifications of matching funds eligibility now held by
Borrower, and the right of the Borrower and/or John McCain to receive payment
under such certifications, are not (and shall not be) collateral for the
Loan." [emphases in original]
(d) The
definition of "Collateral" set forth in the
"Definitions" section of the Loan Agreement is hereby deleted in
its entirety and the following substituted in lieu thereof:
Collateral. The word
"Collateral" means all property and assets granted as collateral
security for the Loan. [...] It is expressly understood and agreed that,
"Collateral" specifically excludes any certification of matching
funds eligibility now held by Borrower and/or John McCain, and any right, title
and interest of Borrower and/or John McCain to receive payments
thereunder."
[...]
(f) The
paragraph entitled "Collateral Description" set forth in the Security
Agreement is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following substituted in
lieu thereof:
"COLLATERAL DESCRIPTION. The word "Collateral" as used in this Agreement means
the following described property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired,
whether now existing or hereafter arising, and wherever located, in which
Grantor is giving to Lender a security interest for the payment of the
Indebtedness and performance of all other obligations under the Note and this
Agreement:
[...]
Grantor
and Lender agree that any certifications of matching funds eligibility,
including related rights, now held by Grantor are not themselves being pledged
as security for the Indebtedness and are not themselves collateral for the
Indebtedness or subject to this Security Agreement. Grantor agrees not to sell,
transfer, convey, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise transfer to any person or
entity any of its present or future right, title and interest in and to the
public matching funds program or any certifications of matching funds
eligibility, including related rights, issued with respect thereto without the
prior written consent of Lender."
December
20, 2007
The FEC announced it had
certified $5,812,197.35 of primary matching funds to McCain but noted that
"[b]ased on historical patterns, the FEC estimates that funds may not be
available to disburse before March 2008."
February
6, 2008
McCain wrote a letter to the FEC that said, "This
letter is to advise you that I, on behalf of myself and John McCain 2008, Inc.,
my principal campaign committee, am withdrawing from participation in the
federal primary-election funding program established by the Presidential
Primary Matching Payment Account Act. No funds have been paid to date by the
Department of the Treasury, and the certification of funds has not been pledged
as security for private financing."
On the June 19 edition of NBC's Nightly News, chief foreign correspondent
Andrea Mitchell said, "Obama's campaign ... charge[s] McCain himself
waffled on this, applying for public funds during the primaries, then
withdrawing from the public system during the nomination fight," but
Mitchell did not note the loan.
February
16, 2008
The Washington
Post reported that
"John McCain's cash-strapped campaign borrowed $1 million from a Bethesda
bank two weeks before the New Hampshire primary by pledging to enter the public
financing system if his bid for the presidency faltered, newly disclosed
records show."
The Post
reported the McCain campaign's response:
McCain's
attorneys and the Fidelity & Trust president said the loan agreements were
carefully scrutinized in advance to make sure they would pass muster with
federal banking regulators and the FEC.
"We
stayed in a safe zone, and so did he," said Barry C. Watkins, the bank's
president. "We were being careful not to force either one of us into a
situation we didn't intend."
McCain's
campaign filed the modification to his initial $3 million loan on Dec. 17,
seeking an additional $1 million. The bank asked him to produce something more
than his campaign's assets as collateral.
"They
said, 'You've explained how you can afford to borrow more, and how you can pay
us back if things go well. What happens if things go badly?' " said Trevor
Potter, a McCain attorney.
The
campaign's response, Potter said, was that McCain could reapply in the future
for federal matching funds, and would agree to use the FEC certifications for
those funds as collateral.
Under
the agreement, McCain promised that if his campaign began to falter, he would
commit to keeping his campaign alive and to entering the federal financing
system so the money he had raised could be used to gain an infusion of matching
funds. Had that happened, he would have been forced to abide by strict federal
spending caps before the Republican National Convention in September.
Under
FEC rules, a candidate who uses a certification for federal funds as collateral
for a loan is obligated to remain within the public financing system. "We
very carefully did not do that," Potter said.
February
19, 2008
Mason replied to McCain's February 6 letter,
writing that the FEC previously "stated it would withdraw a
candidate's certification upon written request, thus agreeing to rescind
the contract, so long as a candidate ... had not pledged the certification of
Matching Payment Program funds 'as security for private financing.'
" Mason wrote that the McCain campaign said it had not "pledged the
certification of Matching Payment funds as security for private
financing" and added that "we invite you to expand on the rationale
for that conclusion, including but not limited to addressing" specific
provisions of the original loan agreement and security agreement, as well as
the modified loan agreement (which also amended the security agreement).
Mason also asserted that it required a
quorum of FEC commissioners to opt out: "Just as 2 U.S.C. § 437c(c)
required an affirmative vote of four Commissioners to make these
certifications, it requires an affirmative vote of four Commissioners to
withdraw them. Therefore, the Commission will consider your request at such
time as it has a quorum."
A February 21 Associated Press article about Mason's letter reported,
"Complicating the dispute is the FEC's current lack of a quorum. The six-member commission has four vacancies and
Senate Democrats and Republicans are at loggerheads over how to fill them. ...
Without action by the Senate, McCain could be waiting
indefinitely." A June 19 Associated Press article noted that the FEC still did not
have "a quorum to act because four of its six seats have been vacant
pending Senate confirmation of presidential nominees."
The Senate confirmed five commissioners to the FEC
on June 24, including a successor to Mason, whose renomination President Bush withdrew on May 6.
February 22, 2008
A February 22 Washington Post article reporting on
Mason's letter stated that "[k]nowingly violating the spending limit is a
criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five
years in prison." The Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act
provides in 26 U.S.C. § 9035 that
"[n]o candidate [participating in the public finance system] shall
knowingly incur qualified campaign expenses in excess of the expenditure
limitation applicable under section 320(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971." And 26 U.S.C. § 9042
states: "Any person who violates the provisions of section 9035 shall be
fined not more than $25,000, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. Any
officer or member of any political committee who knowingly consents to any
expenditure in violation of the provisions of section 9035 shall be fined not
more than $25,000, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both."
An update to a February 22 blog post on Election Law Blog included a
McCain statement that read in part:
"Senator McCain notified the FEC and the United States Treasury of his
withdrawal from the system in a letter dated February 6th. The current dispute
is simply over whether the FEC has to take any action in response to the
withdrawal notice. It is clear to the campaign, as it is to a number of FEC
experts, that no FEC action is necessary in response to Senator McCain's notice
of withdrawal given the constitutional nature of the right. In our view, the
Senator's letter is all that is legally required to exit from the system. FEC
Chairman Mason, who does not represent the official view of the Commission due
to the current lack of a quorum, has written a letter to the campaign in which
he states his belief that the FEC must formally vote to accept the withdrawal.
In either case the result is the same: the campaign will be out of the public
funding system either because of the letter sent on February 6th, or because of
a future vote by the Commission acknowledging the letter.
"Nevertheless,
the campaign is fully responding to Chairman Mason's request for information
and is confident that the new commissioners, when appointed and confirmed, will
take whatever action they conclude is necessary to confirm Senator McCain's
withdrawal from the system as of February 6, 2008."
February
25, 2008
The Democratic National Committee (DNC)
filed a complaint with the FEC
asserting that McCain "pledged matching funds as collateral for a loan to
his campaign" and that "apart from the ability to obtain the loan,
the McCain Campaign has obtained a material, financial benefit from the
certification of eligibility for matching funds through the ability to avail
itself of the automatic right of access to the ballot, in some states."
On the February 24 edition of the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell,
anchor Russ Mitchell reported, "One more political note now. The
Democratic Party says it will file a complaint with the Federal Election
Commission tomorrow against John McCain. The complaint will challenge McCain's
attempt to withdraw from the public campaign financing system." But
Mitchell did not mention the loan or otherwise explain the details of the
complaint.
March
23, 2008
The
Washington Post reported that
"McCain has officially broken the limits imposed by the presidential
public financing system, according to reports filed last week by the campaign.
McCain has spent $58.4 million on his primary effort. Those who have committed
to public financing can spend no more than $54 million on their primary
bid."
April
14, 2008
The DNC filed a lawsuit asking a
federal court act on its complaint that McCain has violated campaign finance
laws.
May 6,
2008
President Bush withdrew Mason's
nomination for reappointment to the FEC.
May 14,
2008
Citing a "120-day exclusivity
period," federal District Judge John D. Bates ordered the DNC's
complaint "dismissed without prejudice," meaning that while he
found that the DNC could not go forward with its lawsuit, he was not barring
the DNC from refiling the complaint. Bates wrote:
The
FEC retains exclusive jurisdiction over initial complaints pursuant to FECA. See
In re Carter-Mondale, 642 F.2d at 542 ("[T]he exclusive
jurisdiction of the FEC extends to assure that the Commission's initial
investigation is completed, or the statutory time limit allowed for an
investigation has expired, before any judicial review is invoked."). The
relevant provisions governing judicial review are found in 2 U.S.C. §§ 437g(a)(8)(A)
- (C). Section 437g(a)(8)(A) provides:
Any
party aggrieved by an order of the Commission dismissing a complaint filed by
such party . . . or by a failure of the Commission to act on such complaint
during the 120-day period beginning on the date the complaint is filed, may
file a petition with the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia.
June
17, 2008
The DNC announced that it would
refile its lawsuit asking a federal court act on its complaint against the
McCain campaign.
June
24, 2008
As promised, the DNC refiled its lawsuit on June 24.
From the February 15 edition of
NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:
ANDREA
MITCHELL: And John McCain pressed Barack Obama over strategy
for a fall campaign. How much money would each man be able to spend if
they end up as opponents? Would they raise cash privately or rely on government
funds?
[begin
video clip]
MITCHELL:
A year ago, Obama and McCain each pledged to accept federal financing, $85
million for the general election, instead of raising private funds, where there
are no limits. But that was long before Obama started raising eye-popping sums.
McCAIN:
If Senator Obama goes back on his commitment to the American people, then
obviously we'd have to re-think our position.
OBAMA:
It would be presumptuous of me to start saying now that I'm locking myself into
something when I don't even know if the other side is going to agree to it.
MITCHELL:
Not just a tangle over money, but McCain is looking to question Obama's
credibility.
From the February 20 edition of Nightly News with Brian Williams:
KELLY
O'DONNELL (Capitol Hill correspondent): Before John McCain visited voters at an
Ohio dairy
farm today, he found a way to challenge Barack Obama's credibility with a very
familiar word.
OBAMA:
Something has to change.
O'DONNELL:
McCain played off that idea to accuse Obama of backing away from his pledge to
cap campaign spending by using only a set amount of taxpayer financing if he's
the nominee.
McCAIN:
I think the American people would expect him to hold to that commitment,
especially if we want to bring about change.
O'DONNELL:
McCain was riled by a piece Obama wrote for USA Today where Obama did not
say he would take the taxpayer financing, but suggested starting negotiations
to figure out a limit on private fundraising.
McCAIN:
And that's Washington
doublespeak. I committed to public financing. He committed to public financing.
O'DONNELL:
McCain turned to foreign policy and made a stinging judgment, saying Obama
doesn't grasp the fundamentals after Obama talked publicly about his
willingness as president to strike terror targets inside Pakistan
without telling that government.
From the June 19 edition of Nightly News with Brian Williams:
ANN
CURRY (guest anchor): Now to presidential politics. Barack Obama today became
the first candidate to opt out of accepting public financing for his general
election campaign. Public financing was put in place more than three decades
ago after the Watergate scandal, and Obama's decision created a firestorm
today. NBC's Andrea Mitchell now reports.
[begin
video clip]
UNIDENTIFIED
REPORTER: McCain says you're breaking your pledge on public financing.
MITCHELL:
Barack Obama wasn't answering questions today.
UNIDENTIFIED
REPORTER: Why did you change your mind?
MITCHELL:
Instead, he announced his decision online.
OBAMA:
The public financing of presidential elections as it is exists today is broken,
and we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system.
MITCHELL:
Now, instead of getting $85 million from the government to campaign next fall,
he can raise hundreds of millions online, overwhelming John McCain, who said
today he will stick to the limits for the general election. McCain in Iowa today.
McCAIN:
He has completely reversed himself and gone back not on his word to me, but the
commitment that he made to the American people. That's disturbing.
MITCHELL:
In fact, Obama did promise to observe the limits if his opponent did, checking
yes on this questionnaire last November. In February, Tim Russert pressed him
on whether he'd keep that pledge.
TIM
RUSSERT (debate moderator): So you may opt out of public financing. You may
break your word?
OBAMA:
What I've said is at the point where I'm the nominee, at the point where it's
appropriate, I will sit down with John McCain and make sure that we have a
system that works for everybody.
MITCHELL:
Obama is already swamping McCain $225 million to $77 million. Only today, Obama
launched a new ad in 18 states, including Republican strongholds.
OBAMA:
I approved this message because I'll never forget those values.
MITCHELL:
Obama's campaign says that's to counter McCain, who wrapped up his nomination
months ago. And they charge McCain himself waffled on this, applying for public
funds during the primaries, then withdrawing from the public system during the
nomination fight. All this will likely end a campaign finance system McCain
once fought to save, as the Internet enables any candidate, not just the rich,
to spend unlimited dollars if they can inspire a large following online.
Andrea
Mitchell, NBC News, Washington.
From the June 21 edition of NBC's Nightly News with Lester Holt:
LEE
COWAN (NBC News correspondent): McCain's camp fired
back that Obama -- who had his own photo op in the flood zone recently -- also
voted against legislation the McCain camp claims might
have saved the levees, too. It was the latest back-and-forth in a race Obama
predicts is going to get even nastier. At a Friday fundraiser, Obama told
donors the Republicans will use his race, even his wife, to stoke fear.
OBAMA:
They're going to try to make you afraid of me. "Because he's young and
inexperienced and he's got a funny name. Did I mention he's black? He's got a
feisty wife."
COWAN:
Being able to fight those kind of attacks is the rationale he used to opt out
of public financing, counting on his private
fundraising prowess to make up the difference.
So far,
Obama has been able to beat John McCain to the
financial punch by a more than two-to-one margin. But in financial reports
filed late Friday, for the first time, John McCain has
been able to match Barack Obama almost dollar for dollar. McCain
raised $21.5 million in May. That's just shy of the $21.9 million Barack Obama
hauled in. But that parity may not last all that long. Most predict Obama will
get a huge fundraising bump when the numbers come in from this month,
reflecting donors' attitudes after Hillary Clinton conceded.
From the June 22 edition of NBC's Nightly News with Lester Holt:
KEVIN
CORKE (NBC News correspondent): First, Obama hopes to blanket the airwaves with
TV ads, reintroducing himself to the American people, part of a 50-state
strategy the Democrats hope will force Republicans to fork out big dollars in
places they hadn't planned to.
JOHN
HARWOOD (CNBC chief Washington
correspondent): He forces John McCain to defend that turf
and spend money that John McCain doesn't have as much
of that Barack Obama does.
CORKE:
Free of spending limits, the Obama campaign thinks it can raise in excess of
$300 million this fall. By comparison, by accepting public
financing, the McCain campaign is limited to a budget of just $84
million. Another Obama strategy, equate a McCain
presidency with a third Bush term.
OBAMA:
This year's Republican primary was a contest to see which candidate could
out-Bush the other, and that's the contest that John McCain
won.
CORKE:
Bush and McCain share similar positions on the war,
immigration, and offshore oil exploration, something the Obama camp hopes to
exploit.
From the February 20 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:
NANCY
CORDES (transportation and consumer safety correspondent): And so McCain today gave a preview of his campaign playbook in an
Obama matchup.
McCAIN: You don't broadcast
and say that you're going to bomb a country without their permission or without
consulting them.
CORDES:
First, point out Obama's relative inexperience, especially in foreign policy.
Second, highlight Obama's record as the most liberal voter in the Senate.
Third, portray the first-term senator as just another politician, not a
sensation.
Today, McCain accused Obama of backing away from a written pledge to
take public financing in the general election.
McCAIN: I'll keep my word. I
want him to keep his.
CORDES:
On Monday, Michelle Obama said she was feeling pride in her country for the
first time in her adult life. Cindy McCain responded
sharply.
From the February 24 edition of the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell:
RUSS
MITCHELL (anchor): One more political note now. The Democratic Party says it
will file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission tomorrow against
John McCain. The complaint will challenge McCain's attempt to withdraw
from the public campaign financing system.
There
is more disturbing news this Sunday for homeowners.
From the June 19 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:
RUSS
MITCHELL (guest anchor): Now, let's take a look at the presidential race.
Barack Obama abandoned a campaign pledge today when he announced he will forgo
federal funding, worth some $84 million. He figures he can raise a lot more on
his own. In doing that, he'll become the first major candidate to turn down
public money since the program was set up in the mid-'70s. Here's Dean
Reynolds.
[begin
video clip]
REYNOLDS:
Given Obama's fundraising prowess, forgoing federal money was not a big
surprise, nor was the attempt to make it seem in line with the change he
advocates.
OBAMA:
I'm asking you to try to do something that's never been done before: declare
our independence from a broken system and run the type of campaign that
reflects the grassroot values that have already changed our politics and
brought us this far.
REYNOLDS:
But it is a big reversal. Only months ago, Obama was signaling a willingness to
preserve public financing. No wonder John McCain smelled a flip-flop.
McCAIN:
This is a big deal. It's a big
deal. He has completely reversed himself and gone back not on his word to me,
but the commitment that he made to the American people. That's disturbing.
REYNOLDS:
And yet Obama's camp believes the $84 million that public financing offers can
be easily surpassed by its computerized network of 1.5 million donors. From
January 2007 to April of this year, Obama raised $266 million to McCain's $93
million. For Obama, raising at least 100 million more is probably doable.
KENNETH
VOGEL (Politico
reporter): In which he'll be able to spend money and compete in all 50 states,
even those that have not traditionally favored Democrats.
REYNOLDS:
Obama indicated he's opting out of the system to have enough money to fight the
unlimited spending and what he called the smears from unregulated
Republican-allied organizations, such as the Swift Boat group which attacked John
Kerry in 2004.
OBAMA:
And we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system.
REYNOLDS:
But McCain, on a campaign swing through flood-ravaged Iowa, said Obama's new position should make
people think twice.
McCAIN:
This election is about a lot of things, but it's also about trust, and it's
also whether you can take people's word.
[end
video clip]
REYNOLDS:
Senator McCain said late today that he will accept public financing and live
within its limits, though in a year that has become very difficult for
Republican fundraising, it's doubtful that he himself could have drummed up
much more money than what the public system is offering him. Russ.
MITCHELL:
Dean Reynolds in Chicago,
thanks.
From the June 25
edition of the CBS
Evening News with Katie Couric:
KATIE
COURIC (CBS anchor): Well, both candidates were pretty vocal about the Supreme
Court decision, both decrying the fact that child rapists could not get the
death penalty. But with Barack Obama, you think there's a pattern emerging
here.
JEFF
GREENFIELD (CBS senior political correspondent): I do. And it's, I think, a
relentless march to the center. He's determined not to be defined as [1988
Democratic presidential nominee Michael] Dukakis was and as John Kerry was, as
outside the mainstream. His compromise on how you can wiretap foreign nationals
with the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] compromise, I think, was
one example. He's saying maybe his anti-free trade rhetoric was a little
overblown. And by abandoning public financing, which he
pledged to, he's saying, if I got more money than the other guy, I'm going to
use it. I want to win.
COURIC:
All right. Jeff Greenfield. Jeff, thanks so much. And we'll be right back.
From the February 22 edition of
ABC's World News with Charles Gibson:
CHARLES
GIBSON (anchor): But what actually may be more of a problem for McCain is the
fact that his -- that his campaign has money troubles.
STEPHANOPOULOS:
It does. And they received a letter from the chairman of the Federal Election
Commission saying that he believes that John McCain has to stay in the public
financing system. Here's the import of that. If he stays in, he's limited to
spending $54 million between now and September. He's already spent $49 million.
That would leave him only $5 million for the next five or six months. The
Democratic nominee is likely to have 10 times that.
At
issue is whether he used -- John McCain used those public funds as collateral
when he got a loan earlier this year for his campaign. The McCain campaign disputes that. They say they're going to be able to
answer this ruling. They're confident they're going to be able to go on. But
this letter from the FEC chairman does put that into question.
GIBSON:
All right. George Stephanopoulos reporting.
From the February 23 edition of
ABC's World News Saturday:
MARLANTES:
One of McCain's greatest assets is his reputation as a
crusader for ethics reform. If new details continue to emerge about his
dealings with lobbyists, that reputation could be jeopardized.
[begin
video clip]
MARLANTES:
This week, he took another hit on that front after he received a letter from
the Federal Election Commission saying he may not be allowed to withdraw from
the public financing system, and then said he would do so anyway.
CLYDE
WILCOX (Georgetown
University government
professor): He's a campaign finance reformer, but he finds himself in the
position possibly competing against a man who's raising money at a record
pace.
MARLANTES:
The move may be necessary for McCain's political
viability. But it could cost him the moral high ground.
* Search terms = SHOW(World News) or
SHOW(Evening News) or SHOW(Nightly News) and McCain and (Federal Election or
loan or Mason or FEC or fidelity or lend! or lent or borrow or matching or
public fund! or public financ! or public money) and date geq (11/1/2007). For
transcripts not in Nexis (the February 24 CBS
Evening News), the following search was used in Factiva: (free text
= "McCain and (Federal Election or loan or FEC or fidelity or lend! or
lent or borrow or matching or public fund! or public financ! or public
money)"; date range = 11/1/2007 - 11/1/2008; source = "NBC
News: Nightly News Or CBS News: Evening News Or CBS News: Evening News - Sunday
Or CBS News: Evening News - Saturday")
Media Matters - What you've been missing: NBC, CBS nightly news shows fail to report on McCain's campaign loan {...} NBC's Nightly News and the CBS Evening News have yet to cover Sen. John McCain's campaign loan, despite a February 29 post on the MSNBC.com blog First Read that stated: "We've noticed today the [Sen. John] McCain/FEC stories -- that McCain very well might have to abide by spending limits before the GOP convention -- are starting to roll in. But why is this only now starting to get more traction, compared with all the stories about [Sen. Barack] Obama waffling on his pledge to accept public funds in the general?" {...} Published: June 26, 2008, 6:06 pm - Indexed: June 27, 2008, 10:08 am - Page Size: 64KB |