John Edwards has accepted public funding for his campaign, a sign that Q3 won’t be any better than the first two fundraising quarters for the Edwards camp.

The campaign is defending the decision continuing their rhetoric of money corrupting politics but it is hard to deny that this will be seen as Edwards not being able to mount an effective fundraising campaign while attacking lobbyists, corporate donors and monied interests.

Marc Ambinder points to a damning quote from Edwards campaign advisor Joe Trippi who said in 2003 while working on Dean for America:

“This campaign believes that any Democratic campaign that opted into the matching-funds system has given up on the general election.