In a February 20 New York Times article on Sen. Barack Obama's fundraising, reporter Michael Luo wrote: “Mr. Obama's success, however, has also now put him on the spot, tempting him to back away from indications he gave last year that he would agree to accept public financing in the general election if the Republican nominee did the same. The hesitation has given Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee whose advisers concede he would most likely fall far short of Mr. Obama's fund-raising for the general election, fodder for a series of attacks.” Luo also quoted McCain's spokeswoman, Jill Hazelbaker, as saying: " 'This type of backpedaling and waffling isn't what inspired millions of people to invest in Senator Obama's candidacy.' " However, Luo never mentioned the Times' own reporting that the McCain campaign recently waffled on the issue of whether McCain would agree to accept public financing in the general election if his opponent did.

McCain reportedly said on March 1, 2007, that if he became the Republican nominee, he would accept public funds, provided the Democratic nominee did as well. However, the Times reported on February 13 that “Mr. McCain's advisers said that the candidate, despite his signature legislative efforts to restrict the money spent on political campaigns, would not accept public financing and spending limits for this year's general campaign.” In a February 15 article reporting that the “McCain campaign's latest stand on the issue” is that it will, in fact, accept public funding if McCain's Democratic opponent does the same, the Times said: “On Tuesday, one of Mr. McCain's advisers told The New York Times that the campaign had decided to forgo public financing in the general election, an awkward admission for a senator who has made campaign finance reform a central part of his political persona.”

As Media Matters for America has previously documented, the Associated Press and editorials in The Washington Post and The New York Times have all ignored the McCain campaign's equivocating on public financing.

From the February 20 New York Times article:

Mr. Obama's startling success, however, has also now put him on the spot, tempting him to back away from indications he gave last year that he would agree to accept public financing in the general election if the Republican nominee did the same. The hesitation has given Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee whose advisers concede he would most likely fall far short of Mr. Obama's fund-raising for the general election, fodder for a series of attacks.

“This type of backpedaling and waffling isn't what inspired millions of people to invest in Senator Obama's candidacy,” said Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for Mr. McCain.

Under rules of public financing, a candidate has access to $85 million from a taxpayer-financed fund for the general election, a substantial amount to spend for the roughly two months after this year's conventions. But this election cycle has shattered fund-raising and spending records and upended expectations.