By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 14, 2003; 4:05 PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) today announced that he would reject public financing of his presidential campaign during the primaries, freeing him from a $45 million spending limit. Kerry joins fellow Democrat Howard Dean and President Bush in rejecting the taxpayer subsidies, which can provide as much as $18.6 million.

Bush has already raised in excess of $100 million for his campaign, with a goal of $170 million to $200 million. Dean leads the Democratic field with $25 million, and the flow of cash to his campaign has been accelerating every quarter. Dean has declared a goal of matching Bush at $200 million.

Kerry, who described himself as a fighter "for campaign finance reform to limit the influence of big corporations and moneyed interests in our government," blamed Dean for his decision to abandon a program viewed by its supporters as a key post-Watergate reform designed to limit spending and encourage small donors.

"I wish Howard Dean had kept his promise to stay within the campaign finance system. But he did not. He changed the rules of this race – and anyone with a real shot at the nomination must now play by those rules. And today, let me be clear: I'm in this campaign to win the nomination and to defeat George Bush next November," Kerry said at a press conference in Des Moines that his campaign made minimal efforts to publicize.

Tricia Enright, Dean's communications director, responded, "I can understand their strategy. It's a lot easier to ask one person to write a $10 million check than it is to ask 2 million for $100." She referred to Kerry's acknowledgment that he will contribute to his own campaign, in contrast with Dean's commitment to raise funds from individual donors.

For Kerry, the decision to reject public money is more difficult than for either Bush or Dean. Kerry's fundraising has slowed considerably, after getting off to a relatively fast start. Instead of being able to depend on a growing base of donors, Kerry will have to use his own money -- and money that he and his wealthy wife, Teresa Heinz, share -- for his own campaign.

In the last quarter, he spent substantially more than he raised, indicating he is likely to need a substantial influsion of cash to survive what are now becoming intense battles in the January Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

Kerry said, "In doing this, I will follow the law which requires that those assets be mine" and no one else's, he said, apparently indicating that he will not use his wife's money. "I am fortunate to be able to contribute it. But this campaign doesn't belong just to me. It belongs to our 200,000 on-line supporters who already have made such a difference. So I ask them to help and to do more. And I tell them now: Your support, your contributions, and your courage can break the stranglehold of special interests in Washington."

Kerry's wife is worth an estimated $500 million, but she cannot put money exclusively under her control into the campaign, except for the maximum $2,000 allowed by federal election law.

Dean has declined to limit his spending to the $45 million ceiling required of candidates who accept public spending. A number of campaign finance advocacy groups and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) have suggested limiting spending to that level until roughly mid-February or early March when the Democratic fight will be settled.

Kerry said he would abide by the limit and challenged Dean to follow suit. "I call on Howard Dean," Kerry said, "to show America that his decision was about beating George Bush and the special interests and not just about grabbing an advantage in the primaries."