Barack Obama’s victory over John McCain was due in no small part to his spending advantage.1 He gained that advantage by collecting private donations, rather than accepting a public grant accompanied by a spending limit. Yet Obama felt compelled to defend his decision by calling for “reform” of a system he described as broken and claiming his would be “first general election campaign that’s truly funded by the American people.” Some of Obama’s supporters and a chorus of “reform” organizations continue to advocate “updating” the public financing system...