SENATOR BARACK Obama is outspending John McCain by nearly three to one on television time in the final weeks of the presidential election, according to ad buy information obtained by the Washington Post. That edge is almost certainly contributing to the momentum for the Illinois senator in key battleground states.
From September 30th to October 6th, Mr Obama spent more than $20 million on television ads in 17 states, including more than $3 million in Pennsylvania and more than $2 million each in Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
McCain in that same time frame spent just $7.2 million in 14 states. Even when the Republican national committee's independent spending in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin is factored in (a total of $5.3 million), Mr Obama still outspent the combined GOP forces by roughly $8 million.
The spending edge enjoyed by Mr Obama has been used almost exclusively to hammer Mr McCain as a clone of the current president.
The assertion of Mr Obama's spending edge has coincided with the collapse of the financial industry and a refocusing by voters on the economy to turn the election from a toss-up to one in which the Democrat has moved into a discernible lead. - ( LA Times-Washington Postservice)-