Centerfield

I wouldn't toot the RNC horn too loudly. Many individual contributions are industry-based as a casual perusal of opensecrets.org will tell you.
Take the oil and energy industry. 4.5 million from PACS and 9.5million in individual contributions with about 4 mil going to the Dems and more than 10 mil going to GOP candidates.
McCain got half a million. Obama a quarter million. So far.

When you start adding up the sources of those "individual contributions" all of the sudden that 1 or 2 percent seems to be awfully small compared to the reality of what the contributions really represent. there's a reason why McCain goes to mansions for fund-raisers..as does Obama.

For Exxon, half a million this year is chump change considering the no-bid oil contract they're getting in a country that kicked them out 36 years ago. And more than 4000 lives. And more lives as our soldiers defend Exxon's new found Iraqi assets.

Scuse me while I grind my teeth.

By the way, the author of that piece, Brooks Jackson, is a conservative hack-job. One more charitable DC columnist describes him as a man torn between endearing himself to the right and his journalistic instincts, which are few. There's a reason or ten why he's not considered to be a top jourmalist in the business. Given the misrepresentation that you were suckered into, you might want to try a different source of news. Just because it has a name like "anal rectal itch", doesn't mean it tastes good. [ooooh , 70's reference... goes with the Rubinoos concert tonight.

Yeah, the first reason is likely lame, but how about Obama's second point? That, I think, is much more on target. But it goes unaddressed. It's just what I suggested on the last thread.

The issue is that McCain's been unwilling to commit to pushing GOP donors to focus their funds and efforts through the campaign instead of spreading nasty rumors and innuendo without McCain having to take the hit for it. Obama has been running exactly such a campaign. It's hardly a public finance limit if alot of your supporters' funds can ignore that limit.

He has a real point. How was McCain taken out in 2000, and Kerry distracted in 2004? By third parties putting down serious bucks to get slime across, wasn't it?

I do wonder if a misunderstanding was involved here, between the campaigns. The wording Obama's been using sounds like he's asking McCain to REQUIRE his supporters to funnel their support through his campaign, something neither candidate can do.

Of course, McCain was also way more appealing 8 years ago, before he was persuaded to start abandoning his long-standing positions for party orthodoxy. I voted for him with enthusiasm in 2000. If that same guy was running today, I'd have little hesitation in doing so again. But as it stands, I'm going to have to think about it real hard.