Barack Obama reversed course today and said he will not rely on public funding for his presidential campaign, breaking a pledge he made to pursue such an arrangement with his Republican rival John McCain. But on the basis of a Rasmussen Reports national survey at the time of that pledge, the Democrat's decision is not likely to prompt much public reaction unless McCain chooses to make an issue of it.

Over half of likely voters could not even guess which candidate had recently re-affirmed his commitment to accept public funding and the limitations that come with it, according to the telephone survey in mid-February. Just 27% correctly answered McCain, while 16% thought it was Obama who had made the commitment.

By way of comparison, a separate survey found that most Americans (54%) could identify Obama as the candidate who had been accused of plagiarism.

There may be many reasons why the campaign finance topic has not generated more heat, but certainly one reason is that most people don’t like the concept to begin with—just 30% favor public funding of Presidential campaigns while 47% are opposed. Over half of Republicans (52%) are opposed to it, while 28% favor the practice. Democrats are split--with 38% opposed to public funding of campaigns and 36% for it.

Forty-one percent (41%) of voters say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who refused public funding, while 23% say they would be less likely. The issue has no impact on 29% of voters.

The survey also found that 30% of likely voters say friendly reporters benefit a candidate more than campaign cash. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say the cash is more important while 41% are not sure. The skepticism about media bias runs at least as deep as the skepticism about campaign contributions. A mid-December survey found that voters overwhelmingly believe reporters cover Presidential debates in a way that helps their favorite Presidential candidate. A series of surveys conducted in July found that major news sources such as The New York Times, Fox News and MSNBC are seen as biased.

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