Well - that was a signal to McCain that he should shucked the pledge. Taking public financing is a trucial bargain. It is not some kind of good in itself. When Obama shucked it, McCain could have followed suit. I think McCain has this weird sense of honor that precludes him from doing the things necessary to win. Imagine if during the Vietnam War, the NVAF and the USAF had agreed to use only aircraft cannon during air-to-air combat. And the NVAF had used air-to-air missiles anyway. McCain would probably have insisted on continuing to use only aircraft cannon. I think he doesn't understand the fact that some things are only good in relation to other things - that not all things are good in and of themselves, and that the public financing pledge was part of the former.