Obama opting out...once again, Olbermann gets to the heart of the issue as does Americablog, Fire Dog Lake, etc...

I posted about this earlier and discussed McCain's hypocritical outrage considering his own behavior.

I was not alone.

Joe at Americablog:

Now, granted, this is a bit complicated. But, it's important -- or it should be important for political pundits who write about John McCain. Yet, for some reason (probably because it counters the conventional wisdom), most of the punditry ignores this -- like Cillizza did today.

The last line in that passage above should have turned some heads. I'll repeat it: Knowingly violating the spending limit is a criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in prison.

Jane at Fire Dog Lake:

McCain opted into the public financing system for the primary, then when it didn't suit his purposes he opted out. When FCC chairman David Mason said McCain couldn't just do that without the permission of the FCC, Bush had Mason removed. Like every other arm of the federal government Bush lays his hands on, the FCC is now politicized for the benefit of the GOP. This is the organization Obama is supposed to trust to oversee a fair election?

Rick Hasen from Huffington Post:

I find Senator Obama's decision completely defensible and unsurprising. The system is broken. We cannot expect opt ins by successful candidates, especially in the internet age which has greatly decreased the cost of fundraising from micro-donors.

Jack and Jill Politics:

GOOD.

The Obama campaign has 1.7 million donors. That IS Public Financing.