The New Nation - Internet Edition

BBC Online

Democrat Barack Obama has said he will not take public financing, allowing him to raise unlimited private funds in his campaign for the US presidency.

His decision means he will forgo more than $80m (£40.5m) that would have been available for him to fight Republican John McCain for the White House.

Candidates who accept public money cannot raise funds from private donors.

Obama set records raising money for his campaign for the Democratic nomination during the primary contests.

The decision reverses his earlier promise to use the federal public financing system if his Republican rival also did so.

The Obama campaign team said McCain was already using privately-raised funds in his campaign and that the public finance system was "broken".