The problem here is that the president overestimated his ability to raise money and built a campaign he could not afford. Had he husbanded his resources more carefully, Obama would not have to spend so much time in the closing 98 days of the election going around with his hand out.
Democrats told The Hill that Obama was adding more high-dollar fundraisers next month. But, more significantly, Obama will also be doing a higher number of fundraisers in the fall.
Unfortunately for Democrats, Obama’s unprecedented fundraising push has not kept pace with his unprecedented campaign-spending rate.
This plan led Obama to hold more fundraisers than his past five predecessors combined
The Hill reports today that Obama, locked in a dead heat with soon-to-be Republican nominee Mitt Romney, is adding fundraisers to his schedule after the Democratic National Convention in September. This is a highly unusual move, especially for an incumbent. Sitting presidents traditionally take advantage of their stature to hoard money in the year before the fall campaign blitz. That leaves them free to campaign in battleground states and govern, rather than trying to wheedle dollars out of entitled-feeling donors who expect access for their max-out checks.
And with Democratic enthusiasm down, small-dollar donors have clammed up too.
The problem here is that the president overestimated his ability to raise money and built a campaign he could not afford.