"The Clark campaign has decided it is in our best interest to remain within the public financing system. Because we are starting so late and have yet to air any commercials anywhere, we are confident that there is plenty of room for us to be competitive in the early primary states while staying within the legally mandated spending caps.

"We are staying within the system, but we will not criticize our fellow Democrats for opting out. Let us be clear: It is George W. Bush who is running around the country raising hundreds of millions of dollars for a nonexistent primary, when he should be running the war in Iraq. It is George W. Bush who wrecked the public financing system, not the Democrats."