News-Record.com

The election has been over for nearly a week and I still haven't heard the last from the Obama campaign.

From today's email:

"The Democratic National Committee poured all of its resources into building our successful 50-state field program. And they played a crucial role in helping Barack win in unlikely states like North Carolina and Indiana. We even picked up an electoral vote in Nebraska.

"The DNC took on considerable debt to make this happen.

"As we start laying the groundwork for real change, we need to help the DNC recover the resources it took to win. Please make a donation today and get your 2008 Victory T-shirt."

You can see the $30 Victory Shirt (and make your donation) here.

I won't be sending any money to the Obama/DNC organization, which might have been the wealthiest political outfit in the history of the world. But it appears they aren't easily discouraged, so I suppose I'll receive continued solicitations all the way through the 2012 election and beyond.

I have to be evenhanded, however. It was brought to my attention the other day that the McCain campaign also sent out regular fundraising emails.

Here's part of a message sent over Sarah Palin's name a week or so before the election:

"We need your support to stop the Obama-Biden Democrats' media buying binge. Your immediate contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or more will help fund our team's ads in key media markets across the country.

"The current media buying gap is a direct result of Senator Obama's broken pledge to accept public financing. This summer, Senator Obama chose to break his promise to the American people by opting out of the public financing system."

The solicitation confused me because McCain did accept public financing, which I thought barred him from private fundraising.

Here's the explanation at the bottom of the email:

"Because the McCain-Palin Campaign is participating in the presidential public funding system, it may not receive contributions for any candidate's election. However, federal law allows the McCain-Palin Campaign's Compliance Fund to defray legal and accounting compliance costs and preserve the Campaign's public grant for media, mail, phones, and get-out-the-vote programs. Contributions to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 will go to the Compliance Fund, and to participating party committees for Victory 2008 programs."

Now that's what you call a switcheroo: We can't use the money you send us to buy campaign ads, even though Gov. Palin just said your contributions will "help fund our team's ads in key media markets," but we can designate your donation to "legal and accounting" expenses and then divert the money we would have spent on legal and accounting to TV ads. OK?

I didn't have much respect for the presidential public financing system before, but now I have none.

It's the same old story: Money talks in elections, and politicians will get it one way or another.

They sure don't mind begging for it ... endlessly.