Obama Leads in Laying Campaign Groundwork

[babylonsister]

Obama Leads in Laying Campaign Groundwork
Big Spending Edge Presents McCain With Uphill Fight
By B Y CHRISTOPHER COOPER
June 7, 2008; Page A4


As the race begins between Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democrat is far ahead in laying the groundwork for a national campaign.

Federal records from February through April show Sen. Obama has outstripped Sen. McCain in spending for a campaign's most-important functions -- a staff of field directors to round up volunteers and get out the vote, a chain of local offices to call strategy and dispense paraphernalia, and a robust advertising and direct-mail schedule.


Reuters
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama smiles during a Chicago 2016 Olympics rally in Chicago Friday.

Sen. McCain, by contrast, has done little advertising, has a much leaner ground army, and is fielding only a handful of campaign offices ahead of the general election.

The mismatch in spending for the building blocks of a national campaign comes in part because Sen. Obama has had to pour resources into an intensive nominating battle far longer than Sen. McCain, who effectively sealed the Republican title four months before Sen. Obama sealed his party's nod this week. But the extended primary battle could benefit the Illinois freshman senator in November, because he has a ready staff in several key states and has built his name-recognition. The disparity also exists because Sen. Obama has been a far more-effective fund-raiser than Sen. McCain.

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