John Edwards has announced he will accept matching funds. I doubt few will see this as anything more than a desperation move due to the inability to raise a meaningful amount of money from anyone other than the trial lawyers. For those who believe Edwards when he says, “This is about taking a stand, a principled stand, and I believe in public financing” I have a bridge or two for sale that I’d like to show you.
For John Edwards, “principle” means a view that changes based upon what is the most beneficial for John Edwards at the time. The legal training to argue either side of an argument convincingly has paid off well for him. With regards to matching funds, Edwards held different “principles” back in February:
Democrat John Edwards on Monday joined New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in saying he will not use public money for the presidential primary campaign or, if he wins his party’s nomination, for the general election.
The move by the former North Carolina senator is the latest sign of trouble for the public campaign funding system, created after the Watergate scandal to set limits and disclosure rules on contributions to presidential campaigns.
Edwards said in an interview that he expects major candidates in both parties to raise unlimited private dollars rather than participate in the public system. He said he needs to do the same “to have the funds to be competitive.”
No doubt Edwards will now apologize for having been wrong on public financing, and then attack the other candidates who have not had the same revelation as he has had, reminiscent of his changing position on the Iraq war.
Edwards has long been arguing that he is more electable than the other candidates despite deteriorating support from independents and moderates after seeing the populist views he has adopted since the 2004 campaign. As Edwards himself argued in February, by accepting the limits from public funds he will no longer have the funds to launch a competitive race.
