Public funds for hopefuls losing clout

WASHINGTON — The public financing system for presidential campaigns, a post-Watergate reform hailed for decades as the best way to rid politics of the corrupting influence of money, may have quietly died over the weekend.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first candidate since 1972 to eschew public financing for both the primary and the general election because of spending limits that come with the federal money. By declaring her confidence that she can raise far more than the roughly $150 million the system would provide for the 2008 presidential primaries and general election, Clinton makes it difficult for other serious candidates to participate in the system without putting themselves at a disadvantage.

Officials of the Federal Election Commission and advisers to several campaigns say they expect the two candidates who reach Election Day 2008 will raise more than $500 million apiece, pushing the total spent on the presidential election well over $1 billion.

People involved in the Republican primary campaign of Sen. John McCain of Arizona say he, too, is also beginning to seek private donations for the primary and general elections, albeit with the option of returning them. A longtime proponent of campaign finance reform, McCain has recently removed his name as a co-sponsor of a bill to expand the presidential public financing program.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, another Republican primary contender, has already decided to forgo public financing for the primaries. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a rival to Clinton for the Democratic nomination, declined to comment, as did spokesmen for several other candidates.

In a sense, Clinton was merely confirming what many in Washington already knew: that the public financing system has failed to keep pace with the torrents of money flowing toward the presidential elections. In 2004, President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate, each opted out of the system for the primaries but not the general election. By accepting the public financing, they had to agree not to raise or spend any private money for the general election. As a candidate in 2000, Bush also did not accept public money during the primary season.

But when Bush raised some $270 million, and Kerry about $235 million, it became clear that candidates could raise ample funds for the general election beyond what the public financing system would provide.