Obama: 1,342 to 8?
Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 9:11 AM by Carrie Dann
The Washington Post writes about Obama’s financial advantage over McCain. Exactly how much money the Democrat has raised will not be clear until next week, when the two campaigns are required to report their September fundraising totals to the Federal Election Commission, although some strategists are openly speculating that he could approach $100 million for the month. That would shatter a record Obama set in August, when he brought in $67 million.”
What he’s done with the money: “Voters in large swaths of Florida will see Obama television commercials dozens of times before catching sight of a McCain ad. A drive across Virginia will wend past 51 Obama field offices, compared with 19 for McCain. ‘It's given them resources to compete in multiple battlegrounds in all dimensions -- on the ground, through the mail, with media, everything,’ Chris Kofinis, a Democratic political strategist, said of Obama's fundraising success. ‘I think people will look back and say this was one of the most pivotal decisions in his campaign.’”
Politico has some hard numbers. “In the first three weeks of September, Barack Obama ran 1,342 television commercials in the Washington media market that reaches heavily populated and contested Northern Virginia. According to The Nielsen Company, in the same period and market, John McCain aired just eight commercials on broadcast stations.”
More: “As of close of business last week, Obama had spent approximately $195 million on primary and general election ads compared with $99 million by the Arizona Republican and the Republican National Committee, according to the Competitive Media Analysis Group… ‘Obama is spending $3.5 million a day on television ads,’ said Evan Tracey, CMAG’s chief operating officer. ‘If he does that through Election Day, it will be more than McCain got from the government for his entire general election campaign.’”
The New York Post: "Conservatives yesterday ripped Obama after he was caught on video telling an Ohio plumber that he intends to take the profits of small-business owners and 'spread the wealth around' to those with lesser incomes… Wurzelbacher said he planned to become the owner of a small plumbing business that will take in more than the $250,000 amount at which Obama plans to begin raising tax rates. 'Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?' the blue-collar worker asked. After Obama responded that it would, Wurzelbacher continued: 'I've worked hard . . . I work 10 to 12 hours a day and I'm buying this company and I'm going to continue working that way. I'm getting taxed more and more while fulfilling the American Dream.'”
”‘It's not that I want to punish your success,' Obama told him. 'I want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too. … 'My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.'"
TPM’s Greg Sargent reports that Sen. Jim Webb has cut a radio ad for Obama, in which he says that Obama will protect Virginians’ gun rights. “‘Our family tradition of hunting and shooting are a way of life to me, and no government will ever take that away,’ Webb says. ‘I am an NRA member and I know that my friend Barack Obama will protect our second amendment rights. So don't be misled about Barack Obama...I trust him to protect our right to keep and bear arms.’”
The RNC unveiled a new Spend-O-Meter calculating all of Obama’s spending proposals.
