Obama Embraces Super PACs After All

AP
Adam Martin 981 Views Feb 7, 2012

He may still find super PACs distasteful, but Barack Obama and his campaign have decided to throw their support behind Priorities USA, one that's been fund-raising on his behalf. In an email Monday night, campaign manager Jim Messina wrote "we will not play by two sets of rules," and announced the campaign would support the political action committee's fund-raising. This comes after  the president first "reviled the 'negative' tone of the super PACs," according to Politico's Glenn Thrush

Why the sudden reversal? The Obama campaign didn't say outright, but Politico is reporting that insiders said it was to "offset negative publicity" generated by this New York Times story about the family of a Mexican fugitive who donated to the Obama campaign.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at amartin at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by Adam Martin

Pragmatist Obama Finds Idealism In Opposing His Own Super PACs

How the Pentagon Plans to Wean Itself Off Fossil Fuels

Things Obama Doesn't Want You to Forget: Financial Crisis, Bin Laden

 

The Mystery of @NotTildaSwinton Ends With a Whimper

'I Say Bravo to Zuckerberg and Chan'

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App