Saturday, June 21, 2008

GOP's cash cache

The attention to Barack Obama's fundraising advantage overlooks the $50 million edge that the RNC has against the DNC. Exactly what the RNC plans to do with all that money is yet to be determined, but the cash shortage at the DNC means either (a) Democratic donors don't trust DNC chairman Howard Dean, or (b) the DNC's been profligate with the money it's already raised. Or possibly both.

Meanwhile, it appears that the McCain campaign had a very good May, pulling even with Obama in terms of monthly fundraising.

UPDATE: Kenneth Vogel:
Obama’s announcement Thursday that he would become the first candidate to opt out of the public financing program for the general election was a big deal for some of the nation’s most influential newspaper editorial boards, which have long been ardent champions of campaign finance reform and which had thought they’d found a kindred spirit on the issue.
Friday morning, scathing editorials in many top broadsheets characterized Obama’s move as a self-interested flip-flop, dismissed his efforts to cast it as a principled stand and charged that Obama wasn’t living up to the reformer image around which he has crafted his political identity.
Just for the record, I am in favor of self-interest and opposed to "reform." But Obama wants to have his self-interested cake and eat his "reform," too.

UPDATE II: Jeralyn Merritt notices that the Rocky Mountain News has an idea for Obama: "Say, buddy, since you're so flush with cash, how about helping pay for the convention?"

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