/ A blogumn by Monique King-Viehland Obama Declines Public Financing – Is he pulling a John Kerry? The public financing system for presidential elections was established by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.  It consists of three distinct components: partial public financing in the primary election; public funding of the presidential nominating conventions; and full public financing in the general election. The spending ceilings and amount of public grants are adjusted for inflation each new election cycle. Public funds to pay for the program are derived through a voluntary $3 checkoff on a taxpayer’s tax return, which costs the U.S. Treasury, not the taxpayer.  Public financing was implemented to address concerns about the increasing influence special interest groups wielded in elections and to place nominees of the two major political parties on a more equal financial footing. There have been a lot of discussions regarding Barack Obama’s decision to decline public financing.  With his decision, Obama became the first candidate of a major party to decline public financing — and the spending limits that go with it — since the system was created in 1976, after the Watergate scandals.   John McCain jumped all over Obama’s decision, noting in a visit to Iowa several months ago that “Senator Obama’s reversal on public financing is one of a number of reversals that he has taken.”  Indeed, the media also concluded that Obama had “flip-flopped” because he had previously indicated that is he did become the Democratic nominee that he would pursue public financing if his Republican appointment did the same. So, did Obama “flip flop” on public financing? Maybe.  But I think the more important question is did Obama have a choice? Under the federal presidential financing system, a candidate this year would be given...