In August, Obama Raised $66 Million
Senator Barack Obama raised $66 million last month, aides said Sunday, the most prolific fund-raising month of his presidential candidacy but still just a baseline for what the Illinois Democrat has to raise every month to meet his campaign’s goals in an exceptionally close and hard-fought race.
After a brief respite from negative campaigning in deference to the damaging passage of Hurricane Ike, both sides resumed fire. Over the weekend, Mr. Obama depicted Senator John McCain as “out of touch” while a McCain surrogate accused Democrats on Sunday of “ageism” in such portrayals of the 72-year-old senator.
Mr. Obama is not taking public financing — the $84 million cash infusion from a government presidential-election fund that Mr. McCain will receive — so his fund-raising burden is considerably higher than his Republican rival’s.
But almost more important than Mr. Obama’s August total may be the fact that it came partly from a half-million first-time donors, most of them far from having contributed the full $2,300 per person allowed in any general election.
For Mr. Obama, the influx came as he formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in a speech viewed on television by about 40 million people. Mr. Obama’s aides said fund-raising also picked up after Mr. McCain announced his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.
Karl Rove, the former top political strategist to President Bush, estimated on “Fox News Sunday” that the Democrats would end up with a $100 million advantage over the Republicans. But the Obama campaign said it would not file its report to the Federal Election Commission until Sept. 20, making precise analysis impossible for now.
“These are very positive numbers for Obama, and they nearly guarantee him an overall spending edge in the fall,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at theUniversity of Virginia. “Maybe they will calm some of the Democratic jitters, though only better poll ratings can really do that.”
He added a caution: “Some of the biggest spenders in American politics have lost to candidates spending much less. But every campaign would rather be the one with more money. The cash buys not just the TV ads but the large on-the-ground staff operations that can add a point or two to your turnout on Election Day.”
Mr. Obama’s previous monthly fund-raising record of $55 million came in February; McCain’s best month was August, with $47 million.
Mr. Obama drew sharp fire from Republicans and opened himself to second-guessing by opting out of the public financial system, counting on raising enough privately to overcome the fund-raising edge that the Republican National Committee holds over its Democratic counterpart.
As Hurricane Ike neared the Texas coast late in the week, Mr. Obama asking voters to consider the “quiet storms” taking place in the lives of many Americans as they weigh their choice for president.
But he also aggressively attacked his Republican rivals, arguing that Mr. McCain would do little to improve the country’s economic condition.
“John McCain doesn’t get it,” Mr. Obama said Saturday, adding new edge to his words at a large rally in Manchester, N.H. “He doesn’t know what’s going on in your lives. He is out of touch with the American people.”
Mr. McCain was attending a Nascar race in New Hampshire on Sunday. Ms. Palin, back from Alaska, campaigned in Nevada over the weekend before preparing to resume the joint appearances with Mr. McCain that have drawn far larger crowds than he had seen on his own.
The campaign has turned sharply negative of late — even Mr. Rove, whose name to many is synonymous with no-holds-barred politics, said as much Sunday — and the Obama campaign sent out an unusually long compendium of press commentary critical of the McCain campaign for ads seen as distorting Mr. Obama’s views.
“McCain’s straight talk has become a toxic mix of lies and double-speak,” said one typical comment, from an editorial in The St. Petersburg Times in Florida. “It is leaving a permanent stain on his reputation for integrity.”
Fighting back, one McCain surrogate said the Democrats, worried by Ms. Palin’s energizing effect and the evaporation of Mr. Obama’s lead in polls, were panicking.
“The Democratic Party is in full-throated panic over Sarah Palin,” said Carleton S. Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive once mentioned as a possible McCain running mate.
She complained on the ABC News program “This Week” that the Democrats’ new focus on Mr. McCain’s age — one new ad notes that he acknowledged not knowing how to use a computer — reflected rampant “ageism.” Republicans have said Mr. McCain’s injuries from the Vietnam War prevent him from using a keyboard.
“I frankly find this disrespectful in the extreme,” Ms. Fiorina said. “This continued resort to ‘he’s too old’ is desperation, frankly.”
Another tough attack came from Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, who described Mr. Obama on the NBC News program “Meet the Press” as “the most left-wing candidate the Democratic Party has ever had.”
Ms. Palin came in for some harsh words as well.
Tony Knowles, a Democrat and former Alaska governor, told “Fox News Sunday” that Ms. Palin was not ready to be vice president. “There has been no vice president that has been less prepared in modern history,” he said.
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