Cash-flush Obama steamrolls McCain in ads

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By Christina Bellantoni

ROANOKE, Va. | In the span of one hour, voters here are told - twice - that good Virginia jobs have vanished because "Washington sold them out with the help of people like John McCain."

Sen. Barack Obama's fundraising juggernaut has steamrolled his Republican rival, burying voters with ads - many of them negative - that he can afford to broadcast into the living rooms of red-state voters. There's no chance it will let up, as the campaign announced Sunday that Mr. Obama had raised more than $150 million in September alone.

The Obama ad attacking Mr. McCain as responsible for trade deals that led to job losses was one of nine 30-second spots that voters could see Friday during the 6 p.m. news.

Mr. Obama's ads that night painted him as someone who will fight for the American dream, who has a centrist health care plan and who will uphold gun rights. They portrayed Mr. McCain as an ally of President Bush whose health care plan would harm families.

The positive health care spot was Mr. Obama's largest buy - it ran more than 20,000 times across the country from mid-September through mid-October, according to Campaign Media Analysis Group.

In this Southwest Virginia region, just two of every 10 ads played Friday were positive. Two Obama attacks on Mr. McCain came in quick succession during the broadcast of "The Late Show" with David Letterman, followed by a Republican National Committee spot depicting Mr. Obama as inexperienced.

All the Republican ads shown Friday were negative, and an independent pro-Democratic veterans group ran a whopping six spots slamming Mr. McCain for his voting record.

The ads are not cheap. According to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, from Sept. 12 through Oct. 11, Mr. Obama spent $71 million on nearly 130,000 ads compared with $32 million on about 70,000 ads by Mr. McCain.

The Republican accepted $84 million in public financing and the spending limits that come with the money, while Mr. Obama is the first nominee to decline the cash since the public-financing system was set up, and has raised money instead from more than 2.5 million donors.

Fundraising totals for September are due Monday. Through Sept. 30, Mr. Obama has raised more than $600 million, shattering records. Mr. McCain had raised $240 million through August and had not released his September total.