Connecticut's record-level first-cycle Clean Elections participation is getting national attention. The AP story was picked up in several papers, and includes both candidate reaction to the new system and predictions from Public Campaign's Nick Nyhart about what success in Connecticut could mean long-term.Here's what Nick had to say: "I think a high participation rate will show what's possible, especially amid the collapse of the federal system," said Nick Nyhart, co-founder and director of the Public Campaign, a nonprofit group based in Washington that advocates comprehensive campaign finance reform.[ . . .] Nyhart wasn't surprised by Obama's [opt-out] decision."We're essentially asking candidates to run a 2008 campaign with a '70s-era public financing system," he said."A modern design of a public financing system is going to draw candidates in and an antiquated program is going to watch candidates opt out," he added.There's hope that if Connecticut's system is successful members of Congress might eventually adopt a similar program to fund their campaigns.