Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Why is Obama spending so much more than Romney?

From the campaign filings, it is clear that Barack Obama's campaign is spending much more than Mitt Romney's campaign on things like TV ads and just about any other type of expenditure.  There are two obvious reasons for this discrepancy.

First of all, the Romney campaign has lots of cash that can only be spent during the general election.  This comes from wealthy donors who gave the maximum amount during the primary and then donated again for the race against the Democratic nominee.  These funds will only be available after the Republican convention.

For the Obama campaign, they still have plenty of cash that was not spent during the primary.  The Obama donors are mostly regular people who give small amounts on a periodic basis.  Most of them will never come close to reaching the campaign contribution limits.  So, the Obama team has less restrictions on the money it can spend early.


The other clear reason for early spending is the need to counter the attacks from pro-Romney super-PACs.  Although Obama also has super-PACs on his side, they got off to a late start and are just beginning to catch up on fundraising.  So, the Obama campaign has had to fight off the Romney super-PAC attack ads.


Why more positive ads are needed


While it is important to counter some of the negative ads from the Romney side, it is equally important to avoid getting too caught up in this exchange.

Every time the campaign broadcasts a negative ad against Romney, the president must declare in his voice "I am Barack Obama and I approved this message."  This can end up hurting the president's favorability ratings and even his approval ratings.

The campaign should concentrate more money on ads like "The Choice" pasted in the video below.  These ads can help improve the president's image and likeability factor.  As the campaign moves closer to Nov. 6, the Obama team should leave more of the counter attack ads to pro-Obama super-PACs and labor unions.

What the campaign wants to emphasize is the president's vision for the future and why voters should choose him over Mitt Romney.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Regarding tv ads: I believe that, unfortunately, negative ads work. However, it depends on the ad.

There is an ad that is frequently seen in New York (and also in Florida) in which Romney is heard singing America, the Beautiful. Printed on the screen, but not heard, are a series of legitimate criticisms of Romney.

People get up and move around during commercials and can miss what s printed on the screen. The only way the Romney criticisms can make an impact is if they are heard.

I cringe every time this ad comes on - I think it's a waste of campaign funds.

Unknown said...

The election should not be based on who has more money. They need to take care of the American People. We need someone that is not in there to say look at me I'm the president. It needs to be someone where we know their background an not with a lot of things missing. The presidential race has gotten more about the moneyand not about. The People.

Unknown said...

Obama spending so much is showing ou exactly why we are in debt. He doesn't care about this country he just wants to look good, when really he's a goof. Look at what Romney did by saving the olympics of 2002 in Salt Lake City! He pulled in all that money and made the U.S have the Olympics so he is highly capable of pulling this great country back to its glory. Obama is the most idiotic politician seen and has no economic sense. Sometimes the peoples choice isn't always to best choice!
VOTE WILLARD MITT ROMNEY FOR
PRESIDENT 2012!

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