John McCain has become the first to file papers and to become eligible for public financing for his presidential campaign.

Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for McCain, said: “This isn’t a sign of desperation — it’s a sign of prudence and should be interpreted as such.”

Public financing of elections is often heralded by Democrats and heavily resisted by Republicans which pretty much equates to McCain doing one more thing to really annoy Republican voters. There is no guarantee he will seek the public funds, which will limit his spending to $50 million in the primaries, but actual fundraising doesn’t seem to agree with the Senator and so who knows.

I for one hope it doesn’t mean the campaign will stop dropping loads of money on AdWords campaigns! Can you guess why?