Alyssum
New member
from Fox News.com
Barack Obama's staggering fundraising prowess -- the Democratic presidential candidate raked in a record-breaking $150 million in September and more than $604 million since the start of his campaign -- has raised the game of political cash as well as questions over whether the public financing system is now obsolete.
Public financing, which restricts how much cash a candidate can raise, is meant to curb the influence of money in presidential campaigns. In an interview on "FOX News Sunday," John McCain took issue with Obama's war chest, saying the exorbitant amount of cash Obama has raised has created the potential for scandal and lays a "predicate for the future that can be very dangerous."
"I'm saying that history shows us where unlimited amounts of money are in political campaigns, it leads to scandal ... this is the first since the Watergate scandal that any candidate for president of the United States, a major party candidate, has broken the pledge to take public financing. We enacted those reforms because of that scandal," McCain said.
Indeed, contributions to Obama far outdistance those of McCain, who kept a pledge to use the public financing system employed by all previous presidential candidates since the Watergate-era reform was enacted.
Obama is the first major party candidate to opt out of public campaign financing in the general election since the law was enacted in 1971 and revised in 1974. George W. Bush dispensed with public financing during his 2000 Republican primary battle, in which he defeated McCain.
By accepting public financing, McCain was given $84 million in funds to use between the Republican National Convention in early September and Election Day. His campaign spent $37 million in September and has had an additional $47 million available since Oct. 1.
In comparison, even before September's fundraising haul, Obama had $77 million on hand. When October fundraising is counted, Obama is expected to surpass the $695.7 million that John Kerry and President Bush -- combined -- raised in 2004.
Obama raised $454 million dollars during the primary campaign -- covering the period from the start of his presidential bid to Aug. 31, 2008, days after he accepted the Democratic Party nomination. McCain raised $240 million during that same time.
In 2004, Bush and Kerry were limited to $74.62 million in public financing in the general election. Bush raised $269.6 million during the primary campaign, while Kerry raised $234.6 million. In the 2000 general campaign, Bush and Al Gore were restricted to $67.56 million in public financing. Bush and Gore raised $95.5 million and $48.1 million in the primaries, respectively.
In 1996, Bill Clinton acquired $42.5 million during the primary campaign; his opponent, Bob Dole, raised $44.9 million. The limit for public financing in that general election campaign was set at $61.82 million.
Clinton raised $25 million in private donations seeking the Democratic nomination and got $12.5 million in matching money in 1992. President George H.W. Bush raised $27 million and got $10.1 million in matching money. Both candidates were restricted to $55.24 million in campaign public financing during the general election.
In 1988, both candidates -- Bush and Michael Dukakis -- were under a $23 million primary spending limit.
Obama's September take was made possible by more than 630,000 new donors, who contributed an average donation of just under $100, according to the Obama campaign.
"The 604 million gives the Obama campaign an extraordinary advantage in the ground game in the closing day of what has been a two-year campaign," said Harvard University public policy professor Richard Parker.
"Having the dollars to execute a plan draws even more dollars, support, media attention, and fixation to a candidate," Parker said.
Despite the unprecedented number of dollars raised, the Obama campaign is urging supporters to continue to donate. Campaign manager David Plouffe asked supporters over the weekend to dig just a little bit deeper, saying the campaign needs more cash to defend itself against McCain's "terrible" tactics in the final stretch.
"We can't afford to make any cuts. We have to execute everything that we think is required to win. We are also expanding the campaign into new battlegrounds," Plouffe said in a video message to supporters.
The Obama campaign has banked on the candidate's message of hope and change to attract millions of new contributors. Steve Weissman, associate director of the Campaign Finance Institute, said he doubts Obama will face a backlash because of his excessive haul.
"Obama raised half a billion (dollars) in the primaries, so his campaign has set records for how much you can raise during the primary season -- and there hasn't been a backlash yet," Weissman said.
"There's not likely to be backlash if the message that's put out resonates with voters. Clearly, it's better to have more money than less. But the key to success is not money alone. ... We have had plenty of millionaire candidates who have failed, like (California Senate candidate) Michael Huffington, for example. The combination of the ability to get the message out and whether the message itself is one that resonates with people is critical," he added.
The Obama campaign hopes his fund-raising prowess will translate into votes, and it is doing its best to spend the money smartly.
Obama has bought a good deal of television ads, particularly in traditional swing states like Ohio and Florida, as well as some new battleground states like Colorado and North Carolina. And the campaign has said it intends to increase its ad spending in the final two weeks before Election Day, Nov. 4.
In an unusual move, the campaign has bought a half hour of political ad time to air concurrently on CBS, NBC, and FOX on Oct. 29. Obama's campaign paid $3 million in total to air the 8 p.m. program on the three networks.
With $604 million, the campaign could buy about 201 prime-time, half-hour blocks to be run simultaneously on all three networks.
For $604 million, the Obama campaign could buy all the shares of La Salle Hotel (with $58 million left over) and almost all the shares of Papa John's Pizza (with a market cap of $606 million).
The campaign could also buy almost all the shares of the Cheesecake Factory (market cap of $640 million) and more than 50 percent of Fannie Mae's outstanding shares (market cap of $1.016 billion)
For the average American, the figure could buy 25,036 Ford Tauruses and more than 140 million gallons of milk.
An individual making $50,000 a year would have to work 12,080 years to earn $604 million.
Barack Obama's staggering fundraising prowess -- the Democratic presidential candidate raked in a record-breaking $150 million in September and more than $604 million since the start of his campaign -- has raised the game of political cash as well as questions over whether the public financing system is now obsolete.
Public financing, which restricts how much cash a candidate can raise, is meant to curb the influence of money in presidential campaigns. In an interview on "FOX News Sunday," John McCain took issue with Obama's war chest, saying the exorbitant amount of cash Obama has raised has created the potential for scandal and lays a "predicate for the future that can be very dangerous."
"I'm saying that history shows us where unlimited amounts of money are in political campaigns, it leads to scandal ... this is the first since the Watergate scandal that any candidate for president of the United States, a major party candidate, has broken the pledge to take public financing. We enacted those reforms because of that scandal," McCain said.
Indeed, contributions to Obama far outdistance those of McCain, who kept a pledge to use the public financing system employed by all previous presidential candidates since the Watergate-era reform was enacted.
Obama is the first major party candidate to opt out of public campaign financing in the general election since the law was enacted in 1971 and revised in 1974. George W. Bush dispensed with public financing during his 2000 Republican primary battle, in which he defeated McCain.
By accepting public financing, McCain was given $84 million in funds to use between the Republican National Convention in early September and Election Day. His campaign spent $37 million in September and has had an additional $47 million available since Oct. 1.
In comparison, even before September's fundraising haul, Obama had $77 million on hand. When October fundraising is counted, Obama is expected to surpass the $695.7 million that John Kerry and President Bush -- combined -- raised in 2004.
Obama raised $454 million dollars during the primary campaign -- covering the period from the start of his presidential bid to Aug. 31, 2008, days after he accepted the Democratic Party nomination. McCain raised $240 million during that same time.
In 2004, Bush and Kerry were limited to $74.62 million in public financing in the general election. Bush raised $269.6 million during the primary campaign, while Kerry raised $234.6 million. In the 2000 general campaign, Bush and Al Gore were restricted to $67.56 million in public financing. Bush and Gore raised $95.5 million and $48.1 million in the primaries, respectively.
In 1996, Bill Clinton acquired $42.5 million during the primary campaign; his opponent, Bob Dole, raised $44.9 million. The limit for public financing in that general election campaign was set at $61.82 million.
Clinton raised $25 million in private donations seeking the Democratic nomination and got $12.5 million in matching money in 1992. President George H.W. Bush raised $27 million and got $10.1 million in matching money. Both candidates were restricted to $55.24 million in campaign public financing during the general election.
In 1988, both candidates -- Bush and Michael Dukakis -- were under a $23 million primary spending limit.
Obama's September take was made possible by more than 630,000 new donors, who contributed an average donation of just under $100, according to the Obama campaign.
"The 604 million gives the Obama campaign an extraordinary advantage in the ground game in the closing day of what has been a two-year campaign," said Harvard University public policy professor Richard Parker.
"Having the dollars to execute a plan draws even more dollars, support, media attention, and fixation to a candidate," Parker said.
Despite the unprecedented number of dollars raised, the Obama campaign is urging supporters to continue to donate. Campaign manager David Plouffe asked supporters over the weekend to dig just a little bit deeper, saying the campaign needs more cash to defend itself against McCain's "terrible" tactics in the final stretch.
"We can't afford to make any cuts. We have to execute everything that we think is required to win. We are also expanding the campaign into new battlegrounds," Plouffe said in a video message to supporters.
The Obama campaign has banked on the candidate's message of hope and change to attract millions of new contributors. Steve Weissman, associate director of the Campaign Finance Institute, said he doubts Obama will face a backlash because of his excessive haul.
"Obama raised half a billion (dollars) in the primaries, so his campaign has set records for how much you can raise during the primary season -- and there hasn't been a backlash yet," Weissman said.
"There's not likely to be backlash if the message that's put out resonates with voters. Clearly, it's better to have more money than less. But the key to success is not money alone. ... We have had plenty of millionaire candidates who have failed, like (California Senate candidate) Michael Huffington, for example. The combination of the ability to get the message out and whether the message itself is one that resonates with people is critical," he added.
The Obama campaign hopes his fund-raising prowess will translate into votes, and it is doing its best to spend the money smartly.
Obama has bought a good deal of television ads, particularly in traditional swing states like Ohio and Florida, as well as some new battleground states like Colorado and North Carolina. And the campaign has said it intends to increase its ad spending in the final two weeks before Election Day, Nov. 4.
In an unusual move, the campaign has bought a half hour of political ad time to air concurrently on CBS, NBC, and FOX on Oct. 29. Obama's campaign paid $3 million in total to air the 8 p.m. program on the three networks.
With $604 million, the campaign could buy about 201 prime-time, half-hour blocks to be run simultaneously on all three networks.
For $604 million, the Obama campaign could buy all the shares of La Salle Hotel (with $58 million left over) and almost all the shares of Papa John's Pizza (with a market cap of $606 million).
The campaign could also buy almost all the shares of the Cheesecake Factory (market cap of $640 million) and more than 50 percent of Fannie Mae's outstanding shares (market cap of $1.016 billion)
For the average American, the figure could buy 25,036 Ford Tauruses and more than 140 million gallons of milk.
An individual making $50,000 a year would have to work 12,080 years to earn $604 million.
