By Jeff Haynes, Reuters
President-elect Barack Obama, the first major party nominee to forego public money, added more than $100 million to his campaign coffers since Oct. 15. 本科
By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will report this week that he raised more than $750 million in his campaign for the White House, easily shattering the record amounts collected four years ago by President Bush and Democrat John Kerry combined.
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt outlined the Democrat's haul on Tuesday. Finance reports for the final days of the campaign are due to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.
Obama, the first major party nominee to forego public money, added more than $100 million to his campaign coffers since Oct. 15. Republican John McCain was limited to $84.1 million in public funds for the general election.
Obama used his financial muscle to pump an unprecedented $240 million into TV advertising during the general election, said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political ads. By comparison, McCain spent about $126 million.
The previous TV ad record of nearly $190 million was set by Bush in 2004.
"There is almost no historical comparison" for Obama's spending, Tracey said. "If you are seriously thinking about running for president in four years, the question you have to ask yourself is: Can you raise enough money to compete with Barack Obama?"
In 2004, Bush and Kerry raised a combined total of $504.2 million during the primaries and each collected $74.6 million in public funding for the general election.
Obama's fundraising edge allowed him to swamp traditional GOP strongholds with ads. In Virginia, for instance, he spent $24 million on TV ads compared with McCain's $7.4 million, Tracey's data show. Obama prevailed there — the first Democrat to win Virginia since 1964.
LaBolt would not say how much cash the campaign still had in the bank. Obama had enough leftover money to give campaign workers one month's salary and health insurance through Dec. 31. He also allowed aides to keep campaign laptops as long as they reported the equipment as taxable income.
Tracey and campaign-finance experts such as Richard Hasen of Loyola Law School said Obama's fundraising makes it increasingly unlikely that future candidates will use public funds.
Fewer than 10% of taxpayers mark the $3 check-off box on their income tax returns to help pay for presidential campaigns. A bill in Congress would raise taxpayer donations to $10 and increase the amount candidates receive.
"Obama has pledged that he would try to fund and fix" the public-financing system, Hasen said. It's unclear "whether there will be an attempt to do so in a time of economic austerity."
Posted
Updated | |
To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification.
Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
【免费咨询报名电话：010-6801 7975】
咨询报名MSN:xueliedu@hotmail.com
试一试网上报名
咨询报名QQ：
| 1505847972 | 1256358232 | 1363884583 | 1902839745 | 800072298 | 754854002 |
| 中专升大专 | 中专升本科 | 高升专 | 高升本 | 专升本 | 自考 |
报名咨询在线MSN：
