White House Race May Cost Hopefuls $500M

[globalvillage]

(AP) Those three dollars you've set aside in your tax returns as a good deed toward clean presidential elections? Forget about it. Nobody wants them anymore.

Strategists from both parties estimate the White House race in 2008 could cost each nominee $500 million _ far more than the Presidential Election Campaign Fund can afford. As a result, this next presidential campaign could mark the first time in 30 years that the Democratic and Republican nominees turn down the fund's millions in both the primary and the general elections.

"The public financing system was a great system, but it's broke," said Steve Elmendorf, the deputy campaign manager for Democrat John Kerry when the Massachusetts senator ran in 2004.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/16/ap/politics/mainD8K6397G0.shtml

[whistle]

1. Use the fund to pay down national debt

[davidinalameda]

2. that is criminal that the candidates would spend that much

[bigdarryl]

3. As long as the american people put up with this....

it's going to continue. the stupid american public have there heads up there ass's all they think about is what Tom Cruz and baby sere and Beyonce and Jayz are doing. while we are loosing our freedom and becoming a dictatorship.

[LiberalFighter]

4. There should be a dollar limit that candidates can spend

The formula should be based on number of people voted in last Presidential Election.

How well the candidates spend the money would be the only way they would have a financial advantage.

There needs to be limits at a minimum with all contributors being identified.