YT:

"... In fact, Mr. Obama stopped short of making a flat promise to participate in the public financing system. Asked in a questionnaire whether he would take part if his opponents did the same, Mr. Obama wrote yes. But he added, ÒIf I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.Ó

Mr. Obama has since said that he would only agree to such a deal if Mr. McCain agreed to curtail spending by the Republican Party and independent groups.

Mr. ObamaÕs campaign has been notable this year for its success in raising money; he outstripped his Democratic opponents in the primary and seemed well-positioned to out-raise Mr. McCain.

Under the federal presidential financing system, a candidate this year would be given $84.1 million from the Treasury to finance a general election campaign. In exchange, the candidate is barred from accepting private donations, or from spending more than the $84.1 million.

All indications this year are that Mr. Obama will have no problem raising more than that amount for the general election; he raised $95 million in February and March alone, most of it, as his aides noted Thursday, in small contributions raised on the Internet. More than 90 percent of the campaignÕs contributions were for $100 or less, said Robert Gibbs, the communications director to Mr. Obama.

That said, the Republican National Committee Ñ which does not operate under the same contribution limits as the candidates Ñ has proved to be much more successful than the Democratic National Committee in raising funds.

Mr. Black said that the McCain campaignÕs fund-raising was improving, and that its efforts to raise money in conjunction with the Republican National Committee and several state parties working to elect Mr. McCain Ñ which allows donors to contribute far more than the $2,300 limit that they can give to presidential campaigns alone Ñ was yielding results.

ÒI assume heÕs going to outspend us,Ó Mr. Black said of Mr. Obama, but he added that the money advantage would prove to be less important than it appeared: ÒWe donÕt have to spend as much as he does to win.Ó he said.

For his part, Mr. Obama portrayed the decision to opt out of public financing as one that would limit the influence of special interests in the campaign.

ÒInstead of forcing us to rely on millions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs, youÕve fueled this campaign with donations of $5, $10, $20, whatever you can afford,Ó he told his supporters in the video message. ÒAnd because you did, weÕve built a grassroots movement of over 1.5 million Americans.Ó