Campaign Cash

Over at The New Republic, Nate Cohn looks at the fascinating ways the different campaigns are spending on ads, and how certain aspects of the two campaigns' strategies, and the nature of campaign finance laws, continue to help the Obama campaign despite the huge influx of cash to GOP-leaning SuperPACs. Citizens United notwithstanding, it turns out that a candidate's campaign, as opposed to the national party or a SuperPAC, still gets discounted rates, in some instances an 8-1 discount. And, because Obama has an army of small donors giving directly to his campaign, not just people writing big checks to the DNC, Obama is actually getting more airtime than Romney, especially in the key swing states of Iowa and New Hampshire.