In 2007, Barack Obama committed to accepting public financing if he was the Democratic presidential nominee. While the Obama campaign has tried to cloud the issue, this was his response to a 2007 survey by the Midwest Democracy Network:

If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?

Yes. I have been a long-time advocate for public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests... My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general election.

Recently however, Obama has backed away from the commitment -- saying that he will 'pursue an agreement,' that calls for the McCain campaign to control the spending of outside groups that are legally prohibited from coordinating with McCain. Thus Obama's public financing commitment dies a quick and dirty death.

The release of Obama's tax returns adds another vaguely interesting twist: Obama checked the $3 public financing set-aside up until 2004, only to stop checking it in 2005 and 2006. He's an advocate of public financing, he just doesn't want to finance it himself. That actually makes perfect sense.