Obama Campaign Officials Defend President’s Support for Super PAC

Just recently against unlimited corporate spending on PACs, President Obama now is openly embracing a super PAC that supports him.

For a brief lesson in modern U.S. politics, one need look no further than the flip-flop by the president on the issue of private political spending. In 2010, President Obama noted that a Supreme Court ruling that would allow private organizations, corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political ads and other forms of "speech" was, in essence, a "threat to our democracy." A couple of years later, the Obama campaign has noted that – with the president’s approval – the campaign will support a super PAC that is in favor of Obama.

Noted one senior campaign official, "We made a decision, announced last night, that we're not going to allow for two sets of rules this election. A half billion dollars spent against the president's re-election by Republican super PACs is not something that we take lightly, and it ultimately led to our decision that we're not going to unilaterally disarm in this fight. Our message remains the same in terms of the type of things we're fighting for." In other words, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. The official added, "The president did sign off on this decision."

A statement that came out late on Monday night by Jim Messina noted that the president still opposes the Supreme Court finding but that the Obama campaign must "face the reality of the law as it currently stands." Messina added, "With so much at stake, we can't allow for two sets of rules in this election, whereby the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm."

By Buzzle Staff and Agencies