KEY POINTS:
WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's decision to reject public financing and its accompanying spending limits throughout her presidential campaign could pressure White House rivals to quickly follow suit.
Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, opened her White House campaign on Sunday and quickly
became the first presidential candidate in history to reject taking taxpayer dollars if she reaches the general election -- which in this race would be nearly US$84 million ($120.26 million).
A proven fund raiser, Clinton is expected to raise much more than that if she wins the Democratic nomination. As soon as she was in the race, she began taking donations on her website for both the primaries and the general election.
The challenge for her opponents will be to keep up.
"She has thrown down the gauntlet from day one," said Michael Toner, a member of the Federal Election Commission. "What will be interesting now is the ripple effect -- other serious candidates can't sit back and let her get a big fund-raising lead."
Clinton was widely expected to forego the public financing system, created in the 1970s after the Watergate scandal and financed by taxpayers who check a box on their tax returns.
The expected high cost of the 2008 White House campaign, which could easily surpass the nearly US$300 million ($429.52 million) raised by President George W. Bush in 2004, made it too enticing to opt out of public financing and avoid the spending limits it imposes.
While Bush and the 2004 Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, opted out of the public financing system in the primaries, they both took about US$75 million in matching funds for the general election.
This cycle, a top fund raiser like Clinton can raise far more than the US$84 million that candidates will get in the general election and US$50 million in the primaries, Toner said. Top candidates are expected to raise as much as US$100 million in the primaries alone.
None of the more than a dozen declared candidates in both parties have said whether they will take public funds in either the primaries or general election.
"In the next few weeks, I assume you'll see many candidates opting out of public financing," Toner said. "They can't afford to wait."
Clinton enters the 2008 campaign as the clear front-runner in polls, but rivals Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards have substantial support and have shown they can also raise plenty of money.
On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, two accomplished fund raisers, lead early polls. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney already is off to a fast start.
Clinton has about US$14 million from her Senate campaign account that she can shift into her presidential bid.
- REUTERS