According to TPM, David Brock has shelved the liberal 527 that was going to run ads against John McCain in the fall.
Barack Obama's fundraising team has been quietly putting out word to major donors that they didn't want any money to go to such third-party groups. Instead, they wanted the cash to go to the Obama campaign, so Obama advisers could be in sole control of the campaign's message.It worked. Brock has quietly leaked a statement to The Washington Post saying that his group is, for all practical purposes, defunct.
This is the exact opposite of John McCain's Very Honorable Response to those race-baiting ads in North Carolina. Instead of writing a letter and letting everyone know that he was against the ad while taking no action to keep it from airing, Obama just put his foot down. Obama hasn't always been so consistent with third-party groups in the past, but given the stakes it looks like Obama is trying pretty hard to live up to the standards he’s set for himself.
It also might be a preview of what we'll see from both candidates: McCain will very publicly condemn smear efforts on his behalf while doing virtually nothing to circumvent them, and Obama will actually do something about it without all the public handwringing.
—A. Serwer
