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The Corner
President-elect Barack Obama may not have seriously vetted New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) for his selection as Commerce secretary, Byron York proposes after reading a Washington Post report that Richardson downplayed the significance of the investigation that led him to withdraw his name. ... READ MORE

Daily Kos
Democrat Al Franken is playing it safe by staying in Minnesota after declaring victory over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), but that's not enough to keep RNC Chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan from accusing him of stealing Coleman's Senate seat through ... READ MORE

Townhall.com
Caroline Kennedy's Senate campaign has tanked, Amanda Carpenter proclaims after a new Public Policy Polling survey reported that 44 percent of New Yorkers have a "lesser" opinion of her than before she announced her desire to fill Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) ... READ MORE

Firedoglake
Though Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) may have protested the pick, former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta will serve the nation well as CIA director, Attaturk proposes, noting Panetta's rejection of torture. Lisa Derrick, meanwhile, calls Levi Johnston, ... READ MORE

RedState
It's not hard to understand why President-elect Barack Obama would pick former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who has no direct intelligence experience, to head the CIA, given that Obama himself won the White House with no executive ... READ MORE

TalkingPointsMemo
President-elect Barack Obama and his team may have made a mistake by not calling Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the incoming head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to tell her that former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta would be ... READ MORE

Power Line
President-elect Barack Obama's decision to tap former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who has no direct intelligence experience, as head of the CIA may have cemented the agency's role as a political entity rather than an intelligence-gathering one, Paul ... READ MORE

MyDD
Though President-elect Barack Obama is taking some criticism for naming former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta--who has no direct intelligence experience--to head the CIA, it should be noted that several of his predecessors at the agency similarly lacked ... READ MORE

The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post's banner headline this morning tells readers that President-elect Barack Obama, by picking former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and retired Admiral Dennis Blair to serve as head of the CIA and director of national intelligence, has made ... READ MORE

Drudge Report
The Drudge Report leads with a photo of storm clouds over the Capitol and a story telling readers that the Senate, on its first day of work in 2009, faces controversy over whether former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and comedian Al ... READ MORE

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June 19, 2008

Obama Forgoes Public Financing

@ 9:01 am by Andy Barr

Barack Obama announced Thursday that his campaign will not accept public financing in a video sent to supporters.

GOP rival John McCain has repeatedly pressured Obama to hold to pledge made earlier to run on public money during the general election. But the jaw dropping success Obama had raising funds in the Democratic primary, especially online and from small donors, leaves few surprised that Obama has opted out of over $84 million in public funds.

"It's not an easy decision, especially because I support a robust system of public financing of election," Obama said.

"But the public financing of presidential elections, as it exists today, is broken, and we face opponents who have become masters at gaming this broken system," Obama said pointing to 527 groups that he said McCain will not hold back.

Obama forgoing public funds may provide a significant advantage over McCain who has struggled throughout the campaign to raise funds.

Sam Youngman has the story. Here is the video.

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