Obama Campaign Running Out of Money?

[Politico]

Let's get the real scoop from Democrats. Is it as bad as the whispers? Word is that donations are way, way down from 2008, and they won't be able to compete with Romney's war chest much longer...

[Supersonic]

Obama has squandered the money he raised in the January to May period by hitting Romney early in the hope of making him 'unelectable'. Obviously since the polls still have the race very close, or close-ish, this arguably hasn't worked out to well.

On the flip side, the Boston team have saved more money and will carpet bomb the airwaves after the Conventions have finished, the point when most voters start paying attention to the election. With the President's money disadvantage, Chicago won't be able to retaliate effectively to the onslaught of negative ads.

It also doesn't help Obama that he refused to sanction an official SuperPAC for a long while after Citizens United, not to mention his campaign found it difficult for anyone to even organise it.

[Lief]

Another Politico thread entirely based on sourceless anti-Obama rumors. Can we please ban this guy now?

[Politico]

Another Politico thread entirely based on sourceless anti-Obama rumors. Can we please ban this guy now?

What did I do? People are talking and I want the truth, not the Harry Reid spin. Is it true or not that Obama's campaign will not be able to spend at levels anywhere near Romney in September-October? Seems a little bit more relevant than some threads on the main page...

[cavalcade]

Obama has (narrowly?) outspent Romney so far this year, and it seems to have had little effect (though there are few undecideds, so it's possible he's gotten some low information voters on his team early rather than post-convention).  He likely has been able to build a ground game that Romney probably won't be able to match, which will help with D early voting/turnout.

Romney will be able to outspend Obama between now and the election, but it will probably have little effect.  Seeing 20 ads a week for four weeks about how awful Obama is, and only 15 ads a week for four weeks about how awful Romney is, won't matter as much as how effective those ads are and money doesn't help much there.  And the voters already know the economy is not doing well so the Romney team can't just rely on that.

[pepper11]

Romney will be able to outspend Obama between now and the election, but it will probably have little effect.  Seeing 20 ads a week for four weeks about how awful Obama is, and only 15 ads a week for four weeks about how awful Romney is, won't matter as much as how effective those ads are and money doesn't help much there. 

It will be interesting to see cash on hand numbers this month. But with the Ryan addition leading to increased small donations and additional fundraisers he can do, Romney will easily hit 100 million in August.  I think the gap in the final months may be much larger than 15 vs 20 ads.  Romney will probably be able to extend into Wisconsin (and maybe PA) and Obama will have to chose to defend and take resourses from current states or take a chance that those states are too far out of reach.

[Likely Voter]

fundraising and spending is an interesting topic but one that really requires actual numbers.

That being said, I think it is a given that the GOP side will outraise and outspend the Dem side, especially when all the superpacs are factored in.

The Obama campaign made a decision to spend a lot of money (more than they were taking in) during the summer to define Romney and there is some evidence that this worked.

[MorningInAmerica]

According to Zeke Miller's twitter account (of Buzzfeed.com), the Obama camp spent quite a bit more in July than they raised:

@ZekeJMiller: Obama campaign took in $49.2 million in July, spent $59.0 million

Obama likes to campaign the way he governs, apparently.

[Lief]

Yes, he does both successfully.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html

[Progressive Realist]

Romney Campaign Running Out of Ideas?

[MorningInAmerica]

Yes, he does both successfully.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html

Find it hard to believe that even you can believe that. But regarding the polls, check back with me in November.

[Likely Voter]

Of course Obama took in more than he spent every month until the last couple. Spending more in the final months isnt unusual. In his case he made the calculation that summer spending against Romney was worth it. Was he wrong?

That being said, a recent NBC analysis showed that if you add up all the ad spending to date it is essentially even between Obama side and Romney side. The difference is that the Obama campaign is the biggest spender on the Dem side, whereas SuperPacs are the biggest on the GOP side

[pepper11]

Cash on hand - through July

Romney: $185.9 million.
Obama:  $123.7 million.

Advantage Romney by $62 million. Romney is going to be up by over $100 mil once he can use his general election funds post convention.

[Progressive Realist]

I like how Republicans point to Romney having more money than Obama as being something to be proud of, somehow.

[Yank2133]

I like how Republicans point to Romney having more money than Obama as being something to be proud of, somehow.

Got to have something to look forward too.......

[President Marokai]

Another Politico thread entirely based on sourceless anti-Obama rumors. Can we please ban this guy now?

[GM Griffin]

To those who think early campaign spending by the President and Co. hasn't worked, look at how they have already succeeded in crippling the public's perception of Romney. This calculation was made early on because both campaigns knew that Romney would lose in a landslide if he tried to attack the President's popularity or likability, and so the President has taken advantage of being able to strike Romney in an area where he cannot likewise strike back. In a race where Obama should be losing handily, he's not.

[Mr. Morden]

Pointless thread.  No source given for these supposed rumors that Obama is running out of money.