Obama’s decision to forgo public financing is not likely to tarnish his public image, according to a Rasmussen poll released today .

Rasmussen found that a scant 30 percent of Americans support public financing of elections, and only 16 percent believe the issue to be “very important,” leading the pollsters to conclude that Obama’s opt-out will “have little impact on Obama’s standing with voters.”

In analyzing the findings, the pollsters wrote: “One reason voters remain unenthusiastic about public funding is that they don’t see it as a way to reduce corruption. Seventy-four percent (74%) believe that rich people and special interest groups will find way to get around any campaign finance regulations to influence politicians. Only 13% disagree.”