McCain To Pour Money Into Final TV Ads

Washington Post: Spending Will Keep Republican Competitive With Obama's Ad Blitz, But Get-Out-The-Vote Efforts Could Suffer

(Washington Post)  This story was written by Matthew Mosk.

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Sen. John McCain and the Republican National Committee will unleash a barrage of spending on television advertising that will allow him to keep pace with Sen. Barack Obama's ad blitz during the campaign's final days, but the expenditures will impact McCain's get-out-the-vote efforts, according to Republican strategists.

McCain has faced a severe spending imbalance during most of the fall, but the Republican nominee squirreled away enough funds to pay for a raft of television ads in critical battleground states over the next four days, said Evan Tracey, a political analyst who monitors television spending.

The decision to finance a final advertising push is forcing McCain to curtail spending on Election Day ground forces to help usher his supporters to the polls, according to Republican consultants familiar with McCain's strategy.

The vaunted, 72-hour plan that President Bush used to mobilize voters in 2000 and 2004 has been scaled back for McCain. He has spent half as much as Obama on staffing and has opened far fewer field offices. This week, a number of veteran GOP operatives who orchestrate door-to-door efforts to get voters to the polls were told they should not expect to receive plane tickets, rental cars or hotel rooms from the campaign.

"The desire for parity on television comes at the expense of investment in paid boots on the ground," said one top Republican strategist who has been privy to McCain's plans. "The folks who will oversee the volunteer operation have been told to get out into the field on their own nickel."

Obama has maintained a substantial financial advantage during the general election campaign, forcing McCain to make tough decisions when locking down a final spending plan about two weeks ago.

Scott Reed, an informal McCain adviser who in 1996 ran then-Sen. Robert J. Dole's presidential bid, said the campaign made the right call by dedicating more money to its media effort. Ads are the most efficient way to persuade undecided voters, and possibly convince some who are only tepidly backing Obama, he said.

"Obama still has not closed the deal," Reed said. "He's still polling under 50 [percent] in most of these battleground states. Don't forget, a lot of people make these decisions late."

Tracey said everything McCain and the RNC are doing is "basically aimed squarely at 'undecideds' and 'lean Obamas.' They've got to bring 'soft Obamas' over their way. TV is the best place to do that."

McCain also is being aided in the campaign's final weekend by several conservative groups, which are airing ads supporting him in key media markets.

Left-leaning groups are also on the air. MoveOn.org announced yesterday it has begun airing ads backing Obama in Arizona.

RNC officials said the party would be picking up the slack for a portion of the Election Day field effort, but it would not be running the entire operation as it did in 2004. The RNC will pay per diems and travel costs for 750 volunteers who fanned out to battleground states yesterday.

[freedom_2008]

Mr. McCain made the worst selection of his career when he chose his running mate. No amount of money or tv ads can fix the horrible decisions he has made during this campaign. He shouldn''t have picked the running mate he did. He shouldn''t have lied. He shouldn''t have started inciting crowds. No amount of money can fix those errors in judgement. It''s time for a change.

[neederbaur]

ZOGBY SATURDAY: Republican John McCain has pulled back within the margin of error... The three-day average holds steady, but McCain outpolled Obama 48% to 47% in Friday, one day, polling. He is beginning to cut into Obama''s lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters. Joe the Plumber may get his license after all...

[rev_miesse]

-The result is always the same, however well-intended the cause. People are divided. Humanity suffers.

Posted by globalcrisis at 08:27 PM : Oct 31, 2008

What is your point there, spammer? Is your future so dim, your prospects so bleak, your mind so weak that you seek to disable us all with your gloom and doom?
Be gone with you, and seek out some quality and affordable counseling before you kill yourself.

[rev_miesse]

-it seems as though you''''ve become pretty thinned-skinned as the election draws nearer.

Posted by dltgold at 08:14 PM : Oct 31, 2008

Boy I''ll say... lookie here.

Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama''s associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate''s free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.

Seems like Sarah "The Disasta'' from Alaska" only believes in free speech when she''s doin'' the the talkin'', you betcha''. Don''t ya'' know. Also.

[rev_miesse]

-rev_mess, such a nice name! welcome on board!
hope this is sarge! LOL

Posted by trishab56 at 08:02 PM : Oct 31, 2008

Nope, not me Ma''am. But thanks just the same.

[rev_miesse]

-McCain is Bush... except Bush was a better pilot... even stoned.

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 02:49 PM : Oct 31, 2008

Q: What is the difference between an eagle and John McCain?

A: An eagle breaks ground and flies into the wind. John McCain breaks wind and flies into the ground.

[rev_miesse]

Ummm... William Ayers! Ahhhhh... Reverend Wright! Hey, how ''bout them Muslims? Uhhh... ACORN! Joe the Plumber,
you there Joe? Joe....HELLO???? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[wingnutsblow]

Cranky/Skankky will get nowhere near the White House.

[idahosilk]

Obama ''is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared about as President of the United States.'' - John Mccain 2008

[lewby54]

Maybe if mccainer didnt hang around with the real subversives! republicans not allowed to see
http://www.squidoo.com/McCain_and_Gordon_Liddy

[jacalhou]

Do you really want someone like Sarah Palin, as clueless as she is having access to nuclear codes when all of her foreign policy experience comes from being able to see Russia from Alaska? I see birds everyday, but that doesn''t make me an ornithologist.

[doctor__coo1]

Houston we have a problem.......


O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with Bill Ayers who summed up his organization''s ideology as follows: "Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, Kill your parents." And dedicated one of his books to the man who killed Robert F. Kennedy, SIRHAN SIRHAN

O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with PLO spokesman Rashid Khalidi.
For those who do not remember, Rashid was instrumental in bringing IRAN%u2019S President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Columbia University last year


O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with ACORN a Democratic organized crime syndicate.

O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with Louis Farakahn and attendant Louis Farakahn%u2019s million man march

O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with and was a prominent member of Rev. Wright Church when he said God *** America.

O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with Slum lord Felon Tony Rezko who Exploit Poor Black People.

O Obama while working in Chicago teamed up with his Socialist cousin, Raila Odinga. campaigning for the President of Kenya. Raila Odinga made TV commercials, That sound just like Obama%u2019s,

O Obama while working in Chicago did his now famous Radio interview advocating Redistributing wealth.

I%u2019m beginning to see a pattern.

The O Obama Doctrine%u2026%u2026%u2026
Originally spoken by Karl Marx

[inventagod2]

''McCain To Pour Money Into Final TV Ads''

Poor John - venom is expensive...

[frogprophet]

McCain''s call to the fundamentalist Christians through Sarah Palin is a dismal failure. America has had eight years with a president with whom God talks directly to. Apparently God isn''t very good at running a country.

[yongamerica]

McCain''s call to all the Joes is a slap in the face to the Real People of America. Unlike Palin''s small world, the majority of America is not made of Rednecks and Hillbillies, even though that is whom she is most comfortable talking to in her Hillbilly world in Alaska.

Not once has his campaign given one hint of how he''d do things different. Instead it has been a constant barrage of misinformation and despiteful commercials and campaign speeches. It seems like McCain and Palin are only comfortable speaking to the choir.

McCain is like the McDonalds of failed Republican and Bush policies. Would you like helicopter McPalin wolf burger with those fried Constitutional rights?

[jacalhou]

Posted by MROUTSIDE12: "they spend most of the day on the internet".

This seems interesting to me, because after reading the last hour plus of your responses, it seems to me that you''re the only person who has had the free time to keep posting time after time after time about your candidate who by CBS has proven that McCain will increase the Federal Deficit by nearly a trillion more than Obama will.

Good luck on Nov. 4th, you''re going to need it.

[airboatboy1]

No response, no more cursing, name calling, smearing etc. They get confused with the facts.

I think your confused. Sounds like you''re describing what McCain tried to base his campaign on. Didn''t work out real well, did it?

[mroutside12]

Friday afternoon......and the Dem libs bolted from their boring jobs in cubicals to run home for work. Employers, check for those that left at 3pm. Lay them off first because not only did they leave early, they spend most of the day on the internet.

[mroutside12]

Democratic liberals.....running away from verification. Man they are fast on there feet when exposed.

[mroutside12]

Demcratic Liberal Silence is Golden ! No response, no more cursing, name calling, smearing etc. They get confused with the facts.