Show Me the Money

Fundraising numbers for August were also reported today.  McCain had his best month to date at $47 million.  Certainly that is an impressive figure.  How did Obama do?  He raised $66 million, but being the biggest celebrity in the world, certainly his numbers shouldn’t be a surprise to the McCain folks.

“We had a record-breaking month in August — raising more than 66 million dollars and adding 500,000 new donors,” campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters..

As for McCain, he raised 47 million dollars in August — his best month so far. But here is the important point and its something that not enough people are talking about.  John McCain has accepted public financing, which will limit his spending to 84 million.  Here’s why that’s a big deal.  Obama is the first candidate ever to not take public financing.  It means that the Obama campaign believes they can continue to raise funds from its donor base.  It also means that if successful, the Obama campaign could have an enormous advantage in money down the stretch.

When Election Day nears, Obama will have the ability to blanket the swing states with a massive ad campaign and GOTV (get out the vote) effort that has never before been attempted.  However, it rests on his ability to continue raising money at a record pace each month.  If August’s figures are any indication, then Obama could be on track to have far more cash on hand for the critical and final stage of the campaign.  This is something to watch for in October.  Of course, should Obama’s fundraising slow, McCain will suddenly gain the financial advantage and stands an excellent chance of winning.  Sadly, money plays an enormous role in determining who will be our next President (oh yeah and our next Vice President).