Ever since the Watergate era, taxpayers have been able to check a box on their federal tax returns and designate a little bit of their tax payment to help finance the presidential campaigns and wean politicians away from big donors.
The public financing program has had its ups and downs. But now President Obama is prepared to sign legislation that, for the first time, takes taxpayer money out of the fund.
First of all, let's pause to reflect on some of the great moments of American political conventions brought to you by presidential matching funds.
Bill Clinton in 1992: "I still believe in a place called Hope."
George W. Bush in 2000: "Americans live on the sunrise side of the mountain. The night is passing. And we are ready for the day to come."
Then Barack Obama in 2008: "This election has never been about me. It's been about you."
And in 2012, not Republican nominee Mitt Romney but actor Clint Eastwood with an empty chair: "What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him that. He can't do that to himself."