Money Talks

[Nbadan]

.....Whott can have his polls, if money talks, then the money Obama is raising is saying that there are a record number of small money supporters donating record amounts of money to Obama....and for good reasons...

Record donations month for Obama

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $66m (£37m) in August, making it his best month in terms of election fundraising.

The amount raised makes it likely Mr Obama will have more to spend than Republican rival John McCain in the final two months before the vote.

Donations were lifted by half a million new donors signing up, an aide said.

The record figure contradicts suggestions that Mr Obama's fundraising appeal had been slipping.

His previous record, of $55m, was set in February.

BCC

Wing-nuts can't escape one simple fact: The camp that raises and spends more almost always wins...

[Anti.Hero]

I heard Obama will be doing a future gatorade commercial to help raise even more.

He's still debating rather to throw support behind Apple or Microsoft.

[AFBlue]

I guess the fact that he turned his back on a promise to use public financing for his campaign has been lost on his supporters....sad.

Change you can't believe, until you see it.

[TheMadHatter]

I just donated $250 to Obama. I know tons of people who are doing the same now that the race is compe ive again. We are going to make sure Bush 2.0 does not get elected, we aren't going to assume the American public is smart enough to make the right choice like we did in '04.

Obama being slightly down in the polls is the best thing that could have happened at this point in the game. Now his supporters are mobilized, vigilant, and extremely active in terms of signing up new voters and spreading the word. Obama's ground game is the best this nation has ever seen, there is a significant chunk of Americans who do not have land lines that aren't represented in these polls at all. I'll let you guess who they are voting for by a 2:1 margin.

If Obama can stay even with MCCain come Election Day in the polls, his ground game will take over.

[PEP]

Yes thats pretty impressive until you find out that it only amounted to an additional $11 Million cash on hand for him after debt/etc took the rest.

His campaign is spending tons of money, its a good thing that he's able to pull in that much cash because if he wasnt he'd be hurting right now, actually he is hurting because he's spending so much on ads/campaigning and he's down right now in the polls.

[mogrovejo]

I guess the fact that he turned his back on a promise to use public financing for his campaign has been lost on his supporters....sad.

Change you can't believe, until you see it.

Yeps. Once a liar, always a liar.

[Nbadan]

why should he limit himself to public financing when rich ass-wipes like TBone Pickens can use all the money they want against him with their 527s? Besides, this is a non-issue, except for wing-nuts who would never support him anyway.....mostly because their racists...

[AFBlue]

why should he limit himself to public financing when rich ass-wipes like TBone Pickens can use all the money they want against him with their 527s? Besides, this is a non-issue, except for wing-nuts who would never support him anyway.....mostly because their racists...

It's an issue of integrity and character....that's not a partisan issue.

And I'm not a racist right-wing nut. As a matter of fact, I might have found myself voting for Obama (or possibly not voting at all) if McCain wasn't the Republican nominee.

[Mr. Peabody]

Obama couldn't have competed had he opted for public financing. The RNC had much greater cash reserves than the DNC and was planning on spending much of it on McCain's behalf.

Even with the record-setting month Obama had, he is still lagging behind McCain when you factor in the DNC and RNC.

Obama's totals, however, also underscore the challenge he faces in the remaining two months of the campaign. McCain, for now, has a significant advantage because he has accepted $84 million in taxpayer funds under a public financing system that Obama chose to bypass in favor of raising more money.

The combined efforts of the two campaigns and the two national parties left both candidates on nearly equal financial footing with about $94 million at the end of August, according to campaign and party officials who discussed the finances on Sunday.

Obama had $77 million in the bank at month's end, and the Democratic National Committee had $17.5 million.

McCain ended the month with about $18 million in cash, which he had to transfer to the Republican National Committee because of his decision to participate in the public finance system. The party committee had $76 million in the bank before the transfer. A party official said the party also had about $20 million in a joint fundraising committee and in special state party accounts that can be used to help McCain.
. . . .
McCain and the GOP have been able to stay essentially even with Obama and the Democrats through August because the RNC has had strong fundraising and low spending. The Democratic National Committee has had lower fundraising and higher spending.

In August, the RNC raised about $22 million, shy of its $26 million sum in July. The Democratic National committee reported raising $17.3 million in August, short of the $20 million raised in July.

[Anti.Hero]

Obama couldn't have competed had he opted for public financing. The RNC had much greater cash reserves than the DNC and was planning on spending much of it on McCain's behalf.

Even with the record-setting month Obama had, he is still lagging behind McCain when you factor in the DNC and RNC.

Sweet, so according to the OP the reps have this in the bag

[Mr. Peabody]

Sweet, so according to the OP the reps have this in the bag

Maybe, the Obama campaign probably assumed they'd have a cash advantage in this race, but now it looks like they'll do well to just keep pace with McCain.

[AFBlue]

Maybe, the Obama campaign probably assumed they'd have a cash advantage in this race, but now it looks like they'll do well to just keep pace with McCain.

Not if the Republicans continue to use their money to put out crappy ads like the ones their running now.

[Nbadan]

Maybe, the Obama campaign probably assumed they'd have a cash advantage in this race, but now it looks like they'll do well to just keep pace with McCain.

That's not true....Obama trails McSame by only 7 million dollars....money he could easily make up as the next two month heat up...then he'll easily have $80-100 million more than the McSame camp to spend in the closing months...

[Mr. Peabody]

That's not true....Obama trails McSame by only 7 million dollars....money he could easily make up as the next two month heat up...then he'll easily have $80-100 million more than the McSame camp to spend in the closing months...

That's assuming the RNC doesn't raise any more money, which they absolutely will. They are probably going to raise money at even greater levels now that the base is fired up with the selection of Palin.

[Nbadan]

Didn't McSame take public financing?

[Anti.Hero]

That's what I don't understand. THe money the RNC has can't directly be attributed to helping McCain i.e. advertising. What can it be used for other than helping get Rep seats in relation to McCain?

[Mr. Peabody]

Didn't McSame take public financing?

This is from USA Today -

By setting up a separate organization within the RNC, the national party can spend unlimited resources on behalf of McCain as long as it does not coordinate with the candidate's campaign.

McCain and the RNC have been raising money together for a joint victory fund that can that can be used to coordinate efforts between the national party and the McCain campaign. But the RNC is limited to spending no more than $19.1 million on coordinated activities.

The independent operation faces no such restriction, but can have no connection to the rest of the RNC or the McCain campaign. McCain has decided to accept public financing in the general election, which limits him to about $84 million in spending, a step that makes reliance on the national party even more important. Obama, who has shattered fundraising records, has decided to bypass the public money and raise his own instead.

Is this not correct? Is the RNC prohibited from spending money on McCain's behalf? I'm interested in knowing because I've been under the assumption that they can and therefore, Obama is behind.

[Mr. Peabody]

Then there's this from the Washington Post -

Most of the campaign ads that Sen. John McCain began airing Sept. 1 are taking a glancing shot at Democrats in Congress -- often just a two-second jab at the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid.

This is not because the McCain campaign has suddenly decided the best strategy to defeat Sen. Barack Obama is to run against other top Democrats in Congress. It's because of a loophole in the public financing laws that allows McCain to evenly split the cost of his ads with the Republican Party so long as the ads make at least a passing reference to the rest of the party's ticket.

Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group and Tim Kay of National Cable Communications -- two top media analysts -- both said they've noticed a growth in this emerging type of ad, known as a hybrid.

"Pretty much every spot they've done has been a hybrid ad," Tracey said.

How do the ads save McCain money? Well, consider that McCain has $84 million to spend between now and Election Day -- that's the federal allotment of money he decided to take during the general election contest. While the Republican National Committee will devote much of its privately financing to field operations, microtargeting, and voter contact, McCain will spend most of his public funding on television ads. If McCain can split the cost of his ads 50-50 with the party, he is essentially able to stretch his public dollars twice as far.

So I do think the RNC money will be a factor.

[Wild Cobra]

OK, let me get this right.

Obama has raised $390 million and already spent $324 million, as of the end of July. The balance on 31 Jul 08 was $65,837,809 with a debt of $915,894. He didn't get much more in contributions until recently, and now has another $66 million. I wonder how much he spent since then, and what his current balance is.

During the same timeframe, McCain raised $174 million, spent $141 million, and has $32,768,214 with a debt of $2,003,356. This last quarter he raised $104 million vs. Obama,s $235 million. Seems like a big deal, right? Think again. Obama during the last quarter has outspent McCain $217 million to $77 million and has been slipping in the polls. Now assuming the $84, doubled, is true, that is still "direct spending!" ... It appears Obama needs to outspend McCain almost 3:1 to win, but this is just direct spending. The RNC and activist groups can still spend their money, so the total spent this election cycle is still up in the air.

This I think is the most important consideration for money spent in the general election. The battle between Hillary and Obama has drained the finances of the left. The right still has plenty of money. Even if Obama outspends McCain on their direct campaign spending, the republicans will again have more money devoted to the election of a new president.

I believe I predicted this short into the primaries... It appears to be coming true!

Operation Chaos did what it was suppost to do. Keep the DNC battle going to drain funds.

[TheMadHatter]

Actually much of Obama's 50-state strategy has helped the local senate and congressional races. Democrats look to pick up bigtime in these areas and increase their majority even further.

And no, Obama isn't close to running out of money. Trust me on this.

[SpursFanFirst]

OK, let me get this right.

Obama has raised $390 million and already spent $324 million, as of the end of July. The balance on 31 Jul 08 was $65,837,809 with a debt of $915,894. He didn't get much more in contributions until recently, and now has another $66 million. I wonder how much he spent since then, and what his current balance is.

During the same timeframe, McCain raised $174 million, spent $141 million, and has $32,768,214 with a debt of $20003,356. This last quarter he raised $104 million vs. Obama,s $235 million. Seems like a big deal, right? Think again. Obama during the last quarter has outspent McCain $217 million to $77 million and has been slipping in the polls. Now assuming the $84, doubled, is true, that is still "direct spending!" ... It appears Obama needs to outspend McCain almost 3:1 to win, but this is just direct spending. The RNC and activist groups can still spend their money, so the total spent this election cycle is still up in the air.

This I think is the most important consideration for money spent in the general election. The battle between Hillary and Obama has drained the finances of the left. The right still has plenty of money. Even if Obama outspends McCain on their direct campaign spending, the republicans will again have more money devoted to the election of a new president.

I believe I predicted this short into the primaries... It appears to be coming true!

Operation Chaos did what it was suppost to do. Keep the DNC battle going to drain funds.

I've always hated math.

[Wild Cobra]

Actually much of Obama's 50-state strategy has helped the local senate and congressional races. Democrats look to pick up bigtime in these areas and increase their majority even further.

I disagree with the democtats picking up seats. I think the oil issue and their lack of allowing ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf drilling will be used effectively by the epublicans running against them.

And no, Obama isn't close to running out of money. Trust me on this.

I was refering to the DNC and leftist PACs running low on money. This too will reduce the help to the democrts running for congress. I really think the republicans have an advantage this November. Of course, I could be wrong, but I would bet good money on my opinion.

[AFBlue]

I've always hated math.

That's what Dubya would call "funny math".