Obama’s admission was in some ways the completion of a metamorphosis that began even during the 2008 campaign, as it became likely that he would be elected. After promising to throw out so-called politics as usual, Obama broke his first promise by rejecting public funding for his campaign because he could raise millions more on his own. He also ran negative ads against his opponent, John McCain, in that race, too.

Later in his presidency, Obama would crusade against a Supreme Court decision that allowed so-called super PACs to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on election ads. He said the decision would corrupt American politics, but after his rivals took advantage of the system, he abandoned his ideological view and embraced his own super PAC, even sending his cabinet secretaries to fundraisers for it…

“What is the president supposed to do? Are we and the hopes of the American people — are we supposed to unilaterally disarm in the face of the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson and Foster Friess, people like that?” one major Democratic donor said, referring to high-profile GOP money men.

“The sad reality is, I think, there’s no choice,” the donor said. “I wish there was.”