The bold populist pledge by John Edwards on Thursday to reject private cash through the “entire” ‘08 campaign - primary and general - appears to be crumbling. Edwards won cheers from disgruntled liberals and stunned the pundits and his rivals by agreeing to public financing of his stalled presidential run as a way to back up his anti-lobbyist/anti-”big money” platform and target his Dem opponents as beholden to special interests. It seemed like a move that could energize his campaign.

“It’s not about a money calculation,� he said. “This is about taking a stand, a principled stand, for what’s right. I believe in public financing.�

The message over the last two days has been very different, however. Where JRE himself was eager to flaunt his new pledge, his campaign team has been ferociously backing off of the statement. Top advisors like Trippi and Bonior have been saying that the public financing announcement was “taken out of context.”

On Friday, however, his campaign manager, David E. Bonior, a former House member from Michigan, said Mr. Edwards might reject public financing for the general election unless the Republican nominee also agreed to take public financing.

Mr. Edwards “understands that almost none of the Republican candidates share this commitment,� Mr. Bonior wrote. “Accordingly, we will continue to raise money for the general election so we will be ready to compete against the Republican nominee.�

In an interview Friday, Joe Trippi, a senior Edwards campaign adviser, said Mr. Edwards had meant to say that he was committed only to a proposal that his rival, Senator Barack Obama, had extended to the Republicans. If the Republican nominee agrees to accept public campaign financing and its limits, Mr. Obama and now Mr. Edwards have said they would do the same.

So the pledge is only in effect if the GOP plays uber-fair and matches the deal? That’s hardly “accepting public financing.” Maybe the Edwards campaign had a hard look at their financial predicament and decided on the cash-friendly approach. It’s not worth churning out populist pledges if it’s not actually giving you a chance to get elected. But will there be a left wing backlash over all of this?