Obama Raised $66M In August

Barack Obama's campaign hauled in $66 million in August, CBS News has learned, his best fund-raising month ever. While the campaign would not say how much money the campaign had on had as of the end of the month, those figures will be available when the finance reports are due on September 20.

John McCain's campaign earlier reported having raised $47 million in August but because the Republican is accepting federal funding for the general election, the campaign had to donate any remaining money to state and local party organizations as of the first of the month. McCain received about $85 million for the fall campaign when he accepted the GOP nomination. Obama, who is bypassing the federal system, can raise and spend a nearly unlimited amount.

But Republicans expect to remain competitive overall, party because of their national committee. The RNC held a $50 million edge over its Democratic counterpart at the end of July. And, Obama's decision to rely on his own money network means his campaign will have to devote precious time to fundraising as the election surges through the final weeks.