At this rate, Bush/Cheney 2004 will have to stay on the fundraising trail longer than expected (that is, collect more than $170 million).
In three weeks alone, Bush will have spent $16.5 million on television.
The president is entering his second week flooding 18 competitive states in a multimillion-dollar advertising onslaught, and will spend roughly $6 million over the next week to run ads at heavy levels on broadcast channels in about 80 media markets. That doesn't include the more than $4.5 million Bush is spending on national cable networks through May, or the $6 million he spent last week on broadcast channels.
But -- surprise! -- Democrats are responding. The Media Fund, Harold Icke's 527, is responding with its own $5 million ad buy. MoveOn.org has put in another $3 million. And Kerry is doing his own $2 million ad buy.
Rove expected to blow out Kerry early on the race, overwhelming him with massive ad buys. The plan is in motion, but so far, we are holding our own. The campaign has been put on the defensive every ad, forced to waste precious news cycles explaining their actions. Not to mention they are being forced to go negative too early as Bush's poll numbers continue to spiral downward. And the Democrats have had enough money to respond.
The more Bush is forced to fundraise and campaign for himself, the less he can fundraise and campaign for senate and congressional Republicans.
In case you can spare a dime, hit one of the major party committees or the Kerry campaign:
Democratic National Committee
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
John Kerry