Stop Raising Cash

Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain should use the federal financing system for the fall campaign -- and reform it afterward.

IT'S BEEN just a few days since he clinched the Democratic nomination, so Barack Obama deserves some time to fulfill his pledge to "aggressively pursue" an agreement with John McCain to stay within the public financing system for the general election. In case you worry that it would be hard to make do on the paltry $85 million available to each candidate, consider this: That money could be spent in only the 10 weeks between the nominating convention and Election Day. From now until the convention, Mr. Obama -- and Mr. McCain for that matter -- can raise and spend "primary" money in what everyone understands is a general election campaign. So the question for Mr. Obama is whether he should take the public money and use it to run in the closing weeks, as Mr. McCain plans to do, or whether he should become the first candidate since the post-Watergate reforms to run a presidential campaign funded entirely by private donations.

Mr. Obama's campaign now claims that his earlier promise was not to stay within the public financing system if his opponent agreed to do the same, as Mr. McCain has done, but merely to pursue such an agreement. Mr. Obama's zeal for this deal has understandably diminished as his fundraising capacity has soared; in the meantime, Mr. McCain has had a four-month head start on launching his general election campaign. The welcome fact that so many of Mr. Obama's donations come in small sums raised over the Internet reduces some of the problems associated with private money, such as the risk that presidential candidates would be too beholden to big donors and could be forced to devote too much time to raising money rather than speaking to voters. Donations of $200 or less accounted for nearly half of the $265 million that Mr. Obama has reported raising so far. Good, but that still leaves many other millions raised by big bundlers whose influence therefore remains significant. The less of that, the better.

This is why we believe that Mr. Obama should stick with his reformer instincts, stand by his promise and work hard, if he is elected, to update the moribund public financing system to reflect new campaign realities. In addition, both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain could and should improve the way their campaigns report the identities of their bundlers. Mr. Obama distinguishes among those who have raised $50,000 or more, the $100,000 bundlers, and the $200,000-and-up superbundlers. There are 78 in this last, elite category and sure to be more as Hillary Rodham Clinton's fundraising machine gears up for the Obama campaign. The McCain campaign lists bundlers of $100,000 or more and $250,000 and up (of whom there are 33). This disclosure is commendable for going beyond what is legally required: zilch. But in a campaign where some fundraisers have hauls approaching or exceeding seven figures, voters deserve more than these sketchy figures in understanding to whom, and for how much, their next president may be indebted.