Barack Obama beats John McCain in the advertising spending war yet again

Barack Obama's ad spending continued to swamp John McCain's in the past week — and that doesn’t count the 30-minute infomercial that aired two nights ago.

Obama's decision to forgo the federal campaign money is paying dividends. He raised almost $190 million in the 45 days after the convention. McCain relied on the $84-million check from the federal government to run his campaign, and simply lacks money to match Obama's.

The Democratic nominee shelled out $21.5 million to McCain’s $7.5 million, plus another $6.7 million by the Republican National Committee, between Oct. 21-28, according to a new study by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project.

The spending pattern shows Obama is pressuring McCain in states the Republican must win, while McCain is playing defense.

Obama spent $15 million in states that voted for President Bush four years ago, “and over 70 percent of his total spending has been in states that were ‘red’” in 2004, the study says. McCain is spending in Republican-leaning states that he must win.

Obama will have spent more than $100 million on ads in October — more than any campaign in history, according to the study, done in concert with TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG, a private firm that tracks and analyzes advertising.

Obama’s production team was working overtime. He aired 46 different ads, many of them targeted at specific states, while McCain aired nine different spots.

Californians are spared much of the clutter. But over in Nevada, with its five electoral votes, Obama outspent McCain and the RNC more than 2 to 1.

In the Reno market — the place where experts on both sides believe the race for Nevada will be determined -- McCain aired 410 ads to Obama’s 500.

McCain and the RNC outspent Obama in North Carolina and Iowa.

Professor Ken Goldstein, director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project, said in a statement that “the spending is hugely unequal and in some cases, the Obama campaign has massive advantages.”

McCain and the RNC spent $2.9 million in Florida. Obama spent $4.6 million in Florida.

McCain and the RNC spent $1.9 million in Pennsylvania. Obama spent $2.7 million there.

In Ohio, McCain and the RNC spent $1.75 million to Obama’s $1.98 million.

Outside interest groups were making little impact. They spent $2.2 million between Oct. 21 and Oct. 28, with $1.7 million intended to help McCain.  Most was spent on cable buys.

-- Dan Morain

Comments

[Mohamad Osman]

Everybody is wondering where Obama's money coming from. The numbers are historically high. A lot of people think that the money are donated by Arabs and Muslims in oil rich countries. The reality is that media has never questioned the source of Obama's money. For some reason or another the American and international media is not interested in investigating the support given to Obama by foreign interests and by wealthy Arabs and Muslims. The Arabs and Muslims have stated openly their support to Obama in the media and they must be taken seriously. The media must ask the question about Arab money now before it is too late.

[Aroleflin]

"KILL ALL THE RICH PEOPLE. BREAK UP THEIR CARS AND APARTMENTS. BRING THE REVOLUTION HOME. KILL YOUR PARENTS. THAT'S WHERE IT'S REALLY AT." ---Bill Ayers, Weather Underground, 1970 ...friend, colleague and supporter of Barack Hussein Obama

"I don't need tah worry bout putting gas in my car or pay my mortgage cause if I help Obama he will help me" ....Obama supporter in Miami, Florida Wednesday night

[Cathy Shea]

As much as I hate the amount of money spent on campaigns, I feel like Obama needed to spend all he did to hopefully defeat a machine that has stopped at nothing on their road to the white house, including stealing two elections! I think that whatever he had to do to try to defeat these power-mongering, support-the-rich fat cats is ok with me.

[Tony]

All future presidential candidates take note. You can buy a presidential election and the best part is you don't even have to tell anyone where the money came from! I wonder what kind of favors he owes if he gets elected!

[Susan]

This is great for the economy. The entire US is making money off the campaign. My husband is getting ready to give Obama more money as I write. We give Obama money because we are scared to death to have McCain/Palin in the White House. McCain/Palin opposes equal pay for women, they do not put a priority on education and with their temperment we will have horrible foreign relations. Plus, spread bigotry and divisiveness and they move this country backwards. We are looking for unity and moving forward.

[mark j]

sounds like mccain ic a socialist by taking that $84 handout from the government. sounds like obama is the most successful capitalist ever doing it all by himself.

[Hua Chen]

Despite media coverage, my vote is for McCain. I believe in governmental oversight, not governmental management.

I'm afraid Barak Obama's vision for the US will lead us down to a more prominent governmental management approach - in energy, business, medicine, and science. With unchecked democratic control of congress, our government will firmly lean socialist. An increasingly socialistic approach will stiffle creativity, competition, and entrepreneurship - the main engines of American economic prosperity.

Over the past years, we have seen McCain in action reaching across the aisle and breaking from Party lines on stem cell research, immigration, troop depolyment etc. He has proven himself to be a moderate Republican that can get things done in congress. This is the type of president we need - to fix the things that needs fixing. Many of the things that needs to be fixed will not have popular support - medicare, medicaid, social security, wellfare. We need a tough president will be push and work with congress to get these non-popular things fixed. McCain has always been the type of person who will put the country first, not his own political popularity. He is the type of president we will need.

McCain is not Bush, but to blame the current economic woes on Bush is presposterous. America built it's own tech bubble when American stock investors kept investing in tech companies without understanding cost basis. America built it's own housing bubble because homeowners streched their financial state to purchase houses they could not afford, continuing the absurd rise of property prices. America built it's own economic crises by insisting on low cost, disposable goods from third hand nations. America built is own energy crisis by purchasing energy inefficient products and practicing energy inefficient ways. America is buildling it's own health crisis through rampant obesity, ongoing tobacco abuse, and instant gratification health approach. To blame all these bad choices on Bush's administration is absurd. Maybe we should have government tax stock purchases so people think three times before purchasing stock. Maybe we should tax house purchases so that homes will be beyond the reach of the general populace. Maybe we can slap luxury taxes on trucks and force the entire nation to drive compacts - including the farmers growing our crops. Maybe we can slap extra taxes on smokers and obese people so that we can cover for their medical expenses. Maybe we can slap more taxes on cheap goods and make them more expensive so that people won't buy them so much. In the end, whether you say "regulation" or anyother tem, it's going to be a "tax" of some sort. All these taxes can be imposed by the government to encourage better spending, but all these taxes will have unintended consequences in economic and social terms. Purchasing would grind to a halt, investments would slow, flow of goods would be severely diminshed, society would feel the hurt.

We need to trust that people will make the right choices - and if they don't then they will have to face the consequences. That is the principle of capitalism - freedom of choice. If you choose to drive a big car and price of fuel goes up - you pay the price. If you turn your heating to 65 in the summer and 75 in the winter, you pay the price. If you make bad investments, you pay the price. If companies lie about their finances - they should pay the price.

Now America needs to look past all the hype, all the propaganda and make the right choice. Look at the needs of our nation, the track record of each candidate, the political situation in Washington, and make the right choice for continued American Prosperity. I don't like Barak Obama's approach. I believe his naivette will have serious consequences for our nation. I believe McCain is a better choice.

[Tim]

Obama keeps stressing this tax break for 95% of the working class. What about the non-working class? Does that mean he is going to tax the retired, the unemployed, the disabled?? If not, why doesn't he just refer to his tax cuts as being for 95% of Americans, or homeowners? Just sounds fishy.

[Justice Lady]

No matter HOW he spends his ill-gotten gains- Obama will NOT be able to buy this election.

I was undecided until the Obama camp started "strong arm" tactics- like investigating Joe the Plumber, TV shows "cut off" from the Obama campaign, reporters whose newspapers came out for McCain- get thrown off the Obama place.
ENOUGH.
He will be a dictator like Hugo Chavez.
Too much baggsge, too many questionable radical associations- plus he wants to re-write the Constitution. All the while- Pelosi and Reid and HIM?
No way.
Nobama

McCain-Palin 2008

[Patty]

Why is nobody asking where all the money is coming from? Have we already forgotten what terrorist did to our country just a few 7 years ago? Obama has way to many ties to that world for me to ever sleep comfortably at night with him as President. I am an independent and there is no way that Obama will ever get my vote. This country needs to wake up and fast or I'm afraid we will all be screwed.

[KB]

Hmm. Why do you assume that just because YOU do not know the source of the funds, that the sources are not being disclosed? Or that they are from some "Arab" source? That is illogical. Americans should all be forced to study logic as many of you assume things that are totally "out to lunch" and with no evidence. Go to www.opensecrets.org for financial disclosure info on all the candidates. Be logical and do a google search before getting so paranoid. Jeez.

[chuck]

The mental gymnastics people use to avoid acknowledging that they would be better off with an obama presidency is truely mind-boggling.