Cash Pouring In, Dean Backs Off Thrift
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By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer

August 15, 2003, 2:09 PM CDT

NEVADA, Iowa -- Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean backed away
from his pledge to adhere to spending limits, saying some advisers want to
explore opting out of the Watergate-era public financing system because of
his sudden fund-raising success.

Dean said he still intends to accept some taxpayer money and spending
restraints and suggested he has discouraged his staff from considering
alternatives right now. But he left open the possibility of following
President Bush's lead in rejecting public financing.

"Could we change our mind? Sure," he said. "But I really don't want to do
that."

Just five months ago, Dean committed to accepting taxpayer money and vowed
to attack any Democrat who didn't.

The about-face follows his emergence as the Democratic Party's biggest
fund-raising threat. Dean collected $7.6 million in the fund-raising quarter
that ended June 30, more than his eight rivals, and aides said Friday that
he is on pace to far exceed that total in the next quarter.

In an interview Thursday, the former Vermont governor said he did not recall
promising to accept public financing and the limits that go with it. Under a
program designed to curb special interest influence, candidates who agree to
state-by-state and overall spending limits get federal matching dollars for
the first $250 of each donation they receive.

"I was asked very early on and I said I intend to take the match," Dean
said. "I think what I said is that we weren't looking into that as an
option."

However, in a March 7 interview with The Associated Press, Dean committed to
accept the taxpayer money. The promise was echoed by a campaign
spokesperson.

"We've always been committed to this. Campaign finance reform is just
something I believe in," he said in March. Dean also said his position was
not based on any political considerations, such as the size of the field or
how much money he can raise.

On Friday, however, Dean cited Bush's plans to raise $200 million -- five
times the spending limit -- as a reason for keeping his options open.

"I think public financing is a good thing. The question is what do you do
with an opponent who can murder you from March to December?" Dean said.

Democrats worry that their nominee will emerge from the primaries broke,
restricted by public financing caps, while Bush holds a huge financial
advantage until he accepts public financing after the GOP convention in
September 2004.

Dean said it's too early to determine whether he will reject public
financing in the primaries. For one thing, he said it is "a little
optimistic" to assume he could raise more money than is available under the
federal system.

Candidates who take the matching funds can get up to $18.7 million -- money
Dean would be turning away if he rejects the system -- and are limited to
about $45 million in spending through the primary season.

Dean reported raising about $10.5 million in the first two quarters.
Assuming he matches his second-quarter total and posts another $7.6 million
by Sept. 30, he would have collected $18 million heading into the last three
months of the year, Dean said, calling that "a long way between here and $44
million."

But some of his advisers believes Dean has an outside shot of raising the
kind of money needed to abandon the public financing system.

"We're not looking at that as an option, although there are those in our
campaign that insist on thinking privately that they want to look at it as
an option," Dean said.

In March, Dean warned his rivals not to opt out of public financing.

"It will be a huge issue ... because I think most Democrats believe in
campaign finance reform," he said at the time.

Dean made the remarks when the party leaders considered rival John Kerry to
be the most likely candidate to bust the spending limits.

The Massachusetts senator, who is independently wealthy, has not said
whether he will accept public financing. Associates say his decision might
be driven by what Dean does.

Kerry and Dean are the only two candidates who have combined fund-raising
success with high poll ratings in key states.

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina has kept pace on the money chase, but he
lags in polls. The senator has just begun investing heavily in TV ads in
hopes of improving his poll ratings.

Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri has led in Iowa polls, but has money woes.

Dean said he turned away state matching money once as governor because he
feared being outspent after a court eliminated spending limits. "I think
public financing of a campaign is important, but I also have been in a
position where I have opted out for practical reasons," he said.