Chancellor Forever was created in coordination with the Deutsches Institut für Public Affairs.

WHAT'S NEW IN POLITICS

"Obama out of system, but not out of character" - Politico.com

Sen. Barack Obama's announcement Thursday that he would finance his campaign with private contributions was the final step of a slow walk away from public financing that began almost as soon as his campaign started 17 months ago.

Obama said he would pursue public financing "aggressively." He committed to it in a written questionnaire. He even said, repeatedly, that he would meet with Sen. John McCain to discuss a deal.

Instead, his campaign never even asked the Republican's aides for a meeting on the subject. And Obama himself, both campaigns said, never asked for a face-to-face meeting with McCain.

"GOP third-party effort nonexistent" - Politico.com

In a web video emailed to supporters Thursday, Barack Obama explained that he was opting out of the public financing system because John McCain is “not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.”

Republicans can only wish that were the case.

Obama’s alarmist prophecy — a bit of typical campaign rhetoric meant to scare his own donors into reaching for their credit cards — is wildly at odds with the flatlined state of conservative third-party efforts.

The truth is that, less than five months before Election Day, there are no serious anti-Obama 527s in existence nor are there any immediate plans to create such a group.

Conversations with more than a dozen Republican strategists find near unanimity in the belief that, at some point, there will be a real third-party effort aimed at Obama. But not one knows who will run it, who will pay for it, what shape it will eventually take or when such a group may form.

"Poll: Split electorate nudges Obama ahead" - USAToday.com

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama hasn't gotten much of a bounce among voters nationwide since clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows.

Obama leads Republican John McCain by 48%-42% among registered voters in the survey, taken Sunday through Thursday. In a survey taken May 30 to June 1, Obama held a three-point lead over the Arizona senator.

Among likely voters, Obama led McCain by 50%-44%, an insignificant change from his earlier standing of 49%-44%.