Enemy Pulling Out of Foreign Territory
No, not Russia withdrawing from Georgia—at least, not in any meaningful sense.
Obama is hightailing it out of the Red states:
Barack Obama bragged that he would compete for votes in all 50 states against John McCain, and his fundraising numbers certainly gave the impression that he had the resources to do it. Yesterday, though, Obama’s campaign abruptly suspended their advertising in several red states, including Georgia, which Team Obama had specifically spotlighted earlier as a possible takeaway:
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has put the brakes on ads that were running in seven states carried by the GOP in the 2004 presidential election, FOX News has learned.
Of the seven states — including Alaska, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota — Florida and Virginia are considered key battlegrounds this year. Obama’s decision to stop advertising in those states is raising eyebrows.
…
[T]his looks like a combination of financial and polling reality. Obama had hoped to make serious gains in red states by the time the conventions started, making further investments attractive. However, Obama has lost ground in these states despite spending millions in television spots, just as he has lost ground nationwide.
Obama also has a fundraising problem, which seems counterintuitive for a campaign that had two $50 million months in a row. Unfortunately, they’re burning through their cash a lot faster than McCain, and with a lot less impact. Also, the RNC is outraising the DNC at such a rate that it’s wiped out the Team Obama advantage, and now Obama has to work fundraisers instead of focusing entirely on his campaign. He can’t afford to blow cash now on efforts with no payoff.
So, on one and the same day, Barack Obama nailed down a state he already had in the bag (Delaware, 3 EC votes) and kissed off seven states with a combined total of 79 EC votes. I don’t know who are advising the Obama campaign, I’m just glad they are.
Roy Lofquist said,
August 23, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
I think that Obama’s camp bollixed the math on public funding. Common error - straight line projection. That will get you over the cliff most of the time. I am looking forward to the report on August fund raising. Could be quite a surprise.
Martino said,
August 23, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
…and Bob Shrum be thy name. Thank Allah (may peace and blessings be upon Him)