Aggressive Obama TV Spending Prompted Clinton's Loan

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: THE $5 MILLION DECISION
Aggressive Obama TV Spending Prompted Clinton's Loan
By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 8, 2008; Page A08

When Sen. Barack Obama began to bombard Super Tuesday states with television ads late last month, top advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly realized they could not afford to match the effort, and first broached with her the notion of dipping into her personal bank account.

"The campaign faced a strategic decision -- either attempt to match his TV . . . or lose," said a senior Clinton adviser, who spoke about the internal discussions on the condition of anonymity. "I would say given the result of Super Tuesday, it was the right decision."

The $5 million loan telegraphed for the first time that the Clinton campaign, which raised more than $100 million in 2007, had suddenly hit the financial skids. Clinton disclosed the loan on Wednesday. What campaign aides have described as a "temporary cash-flow problem" left Clinton (N.Y.) unable to match Obama's advertising in upcoming primary states for much of this week. It also made some of Clinton's top donors, in key states such as Texas, uneasy....

Clinton campaign chairman Terence R. McAuliffe told donors on a conference call that the disclosure of the $5 million loan had unleashed a fresh flow of money. Yesterday afternoon, he said the campaign raised $6.4 million over the Internet "in the last 24 to 30 hours," and will start airing television ads in several critical states today. "It's going to allow us to do everything we need to do," McAuliffe said.

Evan Tracey, an analyst who monitors political advertising, confirmed that the Clinton team had placed new orders for ads in Maine, Nebraska and Washington state. But Obama has had commercials airing for several days in large television markets in the District, Maryland and Virginia, as well as Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state, Tracey said. The senator from Illinois has also gotten a fundraising bounce out of the Feb. 5 contests, raising more than $7 million on Wednesday....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR2008020704233_pf.html

[ursi]

1. I like the black and white tv ad that shows Obama with his mom ...

...and talks about her fight with cancer ...

[Tatiana]

2. Damn, I did not realize he already had commercials going in Virginia. n/t

[NJSecularist]

4. He's quite simply managed his money better than Hillary

And he has a more steady source of income.

[dkf]

3. Hillary & Co spent $500,000 on parking yikes.