See this Boston Globe report, which states: “One idea under consideration within the Kerry campaign is petitioning the FEC for permission to continue raising and spending private funds until Bush receives his federal allotment in early September, according to campaign spokesman Michael Meehan. The FEC has not indicated how it would rule on Kerry’s campaign spending options. But Republicans are almost certain to oppose a rules change in the midst of a campaign.” I’ll be interested to hear what the statutory basis would be for such an exception to the rule that prevents party nominees accepting public financing in the general election from soliciting or spending private funds for their own campaigns.