Posted January 22, 2007 by Meredith McGehee

Ready, Set, GO!

You may not have heard it, but the starting gun sounded today for what is likely to be the first $1 billion presidential election in U.S. history.  Senator Hillary Clinton’s senior advisor, Howard Wolfson, has announced that Clinton will not take the matching funds for the primary season nor the $83.8 million grant for the general election.

The announcement, while not surprising, when combined with the seeming scores of candidates from both parties who are throwing their hats into the ring, mean the fundraising for the nation’s highest office has begun in earnest and earlier than ever before.

This arms race also means that the presidential public financing system which served our nation so well for more than three decades is likely to be the refuge of the long-shots — those candidates who have no real chance of winning but want to build a national following or name ID, or position themselves for future office (maybe even the vice presidency!)

The reasons for candidates abandoning the current presidential public financing system are, sadly, logical, given that opponents have blocked attempts over the years to make sure the system kept up with changing times.  Just like a car that needs maintenance to run well, the presidential system needs to get a tune up that reflects the changes in the way we select our presidential candidates and our eventual President.

And the elements of that “tune-up” are not brain surgery or even that controversial.  The match for funds in the primaries needs to be higher, the amount candidates get from the system needs to be increased, and the timetables need to be updated to accommodate the frontloaded campaign cycle.  All of these changes are within the power of Congress to make and the repairs should be made, even if it can’t be done in time to affect the 2008 elections.  It makes no sense to simply junk a car if it just needs a tune up!

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) has drafted legislation to update the system that would take effect for the presidential elections in 2012.  The 110^th Congress should make fixing the presidential system a top priority to ensure that the Presidency of the United States is not put on the auction block, nor is won by a candidate simply because of their ability to raise the most money.  For more than 30 years, the presidential public financing system, from Reagan to Bush to Clinton, has helped make our election for the highest office more a battle of ideas than money.  More than ever, our nation needs a system which puts greater emphasis on the character and ideas of candidates rather than their skill at soliciting contributions. 

So ladies and gentleman, start your engines! Let’s just hope that it isn’t a race to the bottom.