Obama has many surrogates, McCain has few

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By Christina Bellantoni

Voters in Wisconsin got to see Barack Obama while his wife, Michelle, courted Colorado and Missouri residents and former President Bill Clinton appealed to Floridians.

And that was just yesterday.

A deep bench of Democratic firepower - paired with star power from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z, who will hit the trail for Mr. Obama this weekend - is allowing Mr. Obama to take his campaign to several states every day.

Sen. John McCain, by contrast, has fewer stars and is playing on a smaller map. The Republican nominee rarely splits from his wife, Cindy, and shares a stage more often than not with his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The joint campaigning allows the Republican ticket to electrify far larger crowds than Mr. McCain was able to attract earlier in the year, but it also means the campaign can cover less territory.

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On any given day, 10 to 15 Obama surrogates are fanned out across several battleground states, spreading the Obama message from Miami to Las Vegas.

Mr. Obama has Stevie Wonder and even the reunited Grateful Dead on his side. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher starred in a Web video reminding Americans to register to vote. They join Queen Latifah, Kal Penn and Sean Astin, all of whom have recorded Web ads on Mr. Obama's behalf.