Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* Obama For America and its DNC partner raised $71 million in June, $35 million less than Mitt Romney and the RNC. The Obama campaign's COO, Ann Marie Habershaw, told donors this morning, "I'll spare you the cheerleading and just put this as clearly as I can: If we lose this election, it will be because we didn't close the gap enough when we had the chance."
* In a new USA Today/Gallup Poll, President Obama leads Mitt Romney by two points in 12 swing states (47% to 45%) and leads by four points in all the other states (48% to 44%).
* A new ad from the Obama campaign hits Romney over China. It includes this tagline: "Mitt Romney's not the solution; he's the problem."
* In Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren's Democratic Senate campaign continues to excel at raising money, raising $8.67 million in the second quarter. The Boston Globe reported that Warren is "the nation's leading congressional fundraiser."
* The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission today, accusing Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, and the 60 Plus Association of willfully violating federal election law.
* The Advocate, a magazine focused on the LGBT community, hasn't endorsed a presidential candidate in decades, but this year, has thrown its enthusiastic support to Obama.
* And in Wisconsin, Eric Hovde was not initially expected to be a major player in the Republicans' U.S. Senate primary, but that's changing, thanks to his personal wealth. Late last week, Hovde made a $1.5 million TV ad buy for the month leading up to the August 14 primary.
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With all due respect to the Obama campaign, Ann Marie Habershaw's comment is oh-so-filled with horsecrap. Which is not to say we shouldn't give what we can when can, or we shouldn't "give till it hurts." But comments like hers are part of the "he who raises the most funds automatically wins." Obama in 2008 proved what can be done with lots of small-dollar donations AND a "get out the message" campaign that went truly viral, person to person as opposed to network-to-network.
The sad truth is the Citizens United aftermath brings an electoral landscape similar to the nuclear arms race in the 80s - once you have the ability to blow up the entire planet once, does it really matter HOW many times you can blow up the planet? Both sides will have enough money to run non-stop messages, the question will be how they Obama has always had a better message than Romney or even the entire GOP, and thanks to the internet and eleventy seven hundred news programs, he has the means to express that message without spending the sort of money on ads that Romney will officially and unofficially have. He just has to have the best people to relay that message, and he has to keep that team on the same page and on-message, and at a certain point it won't matter how much more money Romney has. As it stands, the right will have enough money to blanket the airwaves constantly with anti-Obama message, and I'm not saying that one man with a spoon can drain the ocean, but Obama's not one man with a spoon, he still has a lot of money, and a better message, which can outweigh more money with a piss-poor message.
Stop telling us Obama can lose if we don't give you enough money, keep up the message that makes us want to give you money.
Though I admit to having skimmed your post I agree with your last line.
I would add that if we have become a nation of fools who vote based on Madison Avenue ads rather than according to our own best interests then we are obligated to buy Mitt a fiddle to play.
How many Republican primaries does Wisconsin have? They had one a couple of months ago. Now they have another?? Can someone from there explain, please.
Speaking of fundraising. I would love for Rachel to devote a segment to the MOONIES and their relationships to the Republican Party. If we only knew where these millions are coming from!
Nice ad, more of these please!!
A white face with a black heart does not a presidential candidate make.
Please quit plugging Elizabeth "Cherokee Princess" Warren. She is a Racist, liar, and fraudster for the way she used a faux Native identity (she has never verified it, and when it comes to Native identity there is a positive legal requirement that you demonstrate it).
And it won't cost her the election. The Racist "Dick" Blumenthal, a flagrant, anti-Native, Hater, won his race just fine--because so many whites in New England get rich (or at least do well) when you play the Racist against Native people.
He won, she'll win, to the shame of the Democratic Party.
Racism--it never was just a Southern dish.