As I understand it, McCain was not going to use public financing in the primary, but has said he will do so for the general. The problem is when his campaign was down and out that he used his right to public financing as collateral against a loan, obligating him to use public financing for the primaries, also. Then he won a few primaries and his fundraising increased, and he decided he didn’t want to use public financing for the primary. If he is forced to use public financing, he will have virtually no money to spend until after the Pubbie convention. That is, ironically, the law under McCain-Feingold CFR. Talk about being hoisted on your own petard.
Not that Obama is an honorable man keeping to his word, either. Obama said he would use public financing for the general if his opponent did. That’s when his fundraising wasn’t going so well. Now he’s raising a ton of money and is trying to renege on that deal.
Except he didn’t obligate himself to take public financing in exchange for a loan.
He obligated himself to FILE for public financing should his campaign be unable to raise the funds needed privately to pay back the loans.
He had previously obtained approval for public financing, thus showing he could get approval again. That is where the Democrats hang their tenous thread of legal basis for this lawsuit.
In fact, the law has always been interpreted to allow candidates to withdraw from a public financing request so long as they had not yet received money, and had not used the promise of money as collateral.
In this case McCain neither took money, nor used his current approval for public financing to obtain anything of value. His loan did not require him to keep the public financing he already had gotten approval for.
In fact, the FEC would have already ruled in his favor if the democrats allowed Bush to appoint enough of them to have a quorum.
What does McCain need money for? Rush Limbaugh and Arianna Huffington (a BHO supporter!) are doing all his heavy lifting!