As the primary process trundles along speculation is turning to whether the Democratic and Republican nominees for President will use public financing for the general election, as all candidates have done since the program was passed into law. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have said in the past that they would, provided their opponent did as well, but will it happen? The Politico speculates.

Hillary Clinton hasn't said whether she would use public financing in the general election. With Obama continuing to post big fundraising numbers, and McCain enjoying revived prospects, would these two still agree to mutual big money disarmament in the general if they are the nominees?

McCain's decision to forgo public financing in the primary -- after having opted in to the system when his campaign was imperiled -- has muddled the Senator's stance on campaign finance issues a bit. McCain built a strong reputation with his Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act putting new restrictions on federal campaign contributions, but his public stance on campaign finance issues has shifted in recent years, and while he supports the Clean Elections program in his home state of Arizona, he doesn't appear to support a similar program at the federal level.

Whatever the eventual nominees decide to do, it's clear the presidential public financing program is in need of updates that will allow those who opt in to the system to remain competitive against privately funded candidates.