Is Barack Obama considering self-imposed contributions limits during the general election if he is the Democratic presidential nominee? Sam Stein at the Huffington Post writes that Obama mentioned the idea at a fundraiser, perhaps in response to the flack he's gotten over possibly not using the presidential public financing system.

Obama's made combating the influence of money in politics a big message throughout his campaign and he continues to do so:

"We need to separate money from political influence. It's an experiment in open source politics," Obama told a crowd of supporters in Silicon Valley. "One thing that I am considering, and my advisers might not like this: I may limit campaign contribution amounts per person to less than the federal limit in the general election."

Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, still smarting from his own misadventures with the public financing program during the primary race, has attacked Obama for not using public financing in the general election. But McCain's stated support for campaign finance reform, particularly public financing, is far from the gold standard:

"The tricky thing is there is a trust thing," said Dave Donnelly, national campaign director at Public Campaign Action Fund. "McCain opted into the public financing system in the primary and then opted out, then has slammed Obama across the country for this pledge he signed. But Obama never signed a piece of paper saying he would be punished for violating his agreement. That's what McCain has signed and he has gotten a free ride on it... The bottom line is, America needs a reformer in the White House and Obama has proven he will be a reformer by the legislation he's sponsored and his record on the issue. And McCain has clearly backtracked."