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ABC News Video: Obama in 2006 Said Public Financing Saves Taxpayers Money

June 19, 2008 2:55 PM

At a breakfast for constituents in 2006, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said public financing saves taxpayers money in the long run.

"What folks don’t understand is you’re paying for the lack of public financing," Obama said. "Because all those, you know, pork projects you read about and all the shenanigans that take place around here, you would save significantly as a taxpayer by paying what would probably end up being five dollars per person per year to finance every federal campaign."

Watch HERE. So does that mean Obama's decision to forgo public financing will cost taxpayers money? No, he says, because he argues he has created a new system.

- jpt

June 19, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (28)

User Comments

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Mccains involvement in the Keating Five scandal that cost elderly retired Arizonans billions of dollars of their life savings has convinced me that he doesn't care about anyone but himself and his rich much younger wife. He could be his wifes father, who's own father was a convicted felon. Who also had ties to organized crime when he bought Ruidoso Downs, the horse track. He didn't disclose silent owners who were bookmakers and connected to organized crime.

I don't want a president like John McCain.

Posted by: Woodpecker | Jun 21, 2008 12:05:07 AM

Why, yes, and Obama's system of campaign finance is far better. The individual, grassroots donations receive matching federal funds, which will groundswell voters. But then if you're of the old guard and prefer political power among the chosen and few, then Obama's finance dream can be viewed of as a nightmare.

Posted by: kat | Jun 20, 2008 1:08:09 PM

My, my, my delusional or just a shyster in rare form. He has created a new system? Has anyone asked him to detail what that system is? I bet he won't say money donated to his campaigned by people that dead, are illegal immigrants, are foreign nationals or or have multiple computers servers in basement operations....

Posted by: rw | Jun 20, 2008 8:00:17 AM

Obama is going to get killed on this flip-flop at every debate.

Can you say President McCain?

Posted by: Jack | Jun 20, 2008 5:04:43 AM

Barack Obama is a typical lying politician. No difference at all.

ALL TALK, NO WALK.

Posted by: McCain in 08'/Hillary in 12' | Jun 20, 2008 5:03:08 AM

ObaMA IS THE BIGGEST FLIP FLOPPER I have ever seen. The dnc has totally destroyed the Democratic party that I knew and there is no way on God's green earth that I would vote for him.

Posted by: pAT jOHNSTON | Jun 19, 2008 11:16:21 PM

Obama has a new system, Coming to a theater near you this fall. Obama takes 500 million dollars from the poorest of the poor and spends it on defending his slimy past and loses the election in a landslide.
That's change alright!!

Posted by: Jay | Jun 19, 2008 11:11:42 PM

Perhaps all that savings to the government could be spent on helping the flood victims along the over-flowing rivers. Looks worse than Katrina to me.

Posted by: Mary | Jun 19, 2008 5:40:57 PM

For those interested in knowing, not guessing, on who is donating and from where just go to the Federal Election Commission web page.

Posted by: 1percenter | Jun 19, 2008 4:33:12 PM

Why would he want a paltry 85M when he has sugar daddy George Soros? And all kinds of other slimy business buddies....

Report on the state of our democracy.

Posted by: SadStateOfAffairs | Jun 19, 2008 4:20:25 PM

Edit.

I have no idea how Obama wins. He is an empty suit. But I am hoping anyways.

next

Posted by: Concise | Jun 19, 2008 3:56:30 PM

You guys STILL think obama will win the general election?

**************

Absolutely. Without a doubt. Next.

Posted by: Concise | Jun 19, 2008 3:54:26 PM

Louis - McCain explained about why he was against the tax cuts and now is for them, he thought and rightfully so the liberals would not cut spending which they did not. but he also saw that the tax cuts helped the poor and brought in more revenue to the government then ever before. So he was not hypocritical.

You are hypocritical when yousay you are going to do something and for political reasons you do not, like Obama who now wants his elitist billionaire friend who say we should eat cake to finance his run!!

The Obama slogan We want to change to Marxism!!

Posted by: spock | Jun 19, 2008 3:51:32 PM

You guys STILL think obama will win the general election?

The media cant keep hyping him if he has no new 'hype' material and keeps making idiot mistakes like this. He is sinking like a stone.

He is unelectable.

Posted by: ned | Jun 19, 2008 3:50:06 PM

When someone doesn't know what they are talking about they utter confusing statements, talk in circles and fool no one but themselves.

Posted by: this election counts | Jun 19, 2008 3:44:00 PM

sorry not 8 figure...duh on me...

well into the 7 figure mark of donaters when it is all said and done

so yeah Obama has to verify his donations...
they're called election laws.

Posted by: dl | Jun 19, 2008 3:35:27 PM

HP Boston

Obama has well over a million donaters...

it will chances are be well into the 8 figure mark of voters when it is all said and done...

yeah and that has to be verified...duh.

Posted by: dl | Jun 19, 2008 3:33:44 PM

It's hard to pull off self-righteous against the conservative 527s when moveon.org is running their 527 ads to benefit Obama.

Posted by: HoosierSue | Jun 19, 2008 3:25:42 PM

will there be video of McCain, showing that he was against the tax cuts, he is for now, that he was against the enron loophole that he supports now, that he was against the torture he is for now?

Posted by: Louis | Jun 19, 2008 3:23:40 PM

Does anyone honestly believe that Obama's entire campaign is funded by Mom and Pop donations of $100? Apparently so...

Posted by: HoosierSue | Jun 19, 2008 3:23:36 PM

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