Someday, I believe our kids will ask us in wonderment, "You mean, people used to have to be rich or know a lot of rich people in order to get elected?" the same way they might now exclaim, "You mean, blacks were once slaves?" or "Women didn't have the right to vote?"
For anyone who shares that belief, August 1 was an important day in American history. That was the first day that people seeking major statewide offices in Arizona and Massachusetts could start their campaigns free of the corrupting influence of private campaign contributions. Both states are on the cutting edge of the Clean Elections movement, in which candidates who agree to raise little or no private money and abide by strict spending limits can receive full public financing for their campaigns.