Convention Timing Gives Bush Money Edge

Kerry spent $10 million last month, starting September with $62 million just as Bush was about to get his $75 million from the Federal Election Commission. Kerry’s August spending compares with $36 million in July when he could still use private contributions to cover campaign costs.

The DNC started this month with $56 million in the bank after spending roughly $55 million in August, much of it on TV and radio ads supporting Kerry and opposing Bush.

The Republican National Committee spent about $20 million in August, starting September with nearly $94 million on hand. The party nominated Bush on Sept. 2, putting an end to his private campaign fund raising just over a month after Kerry’s nomination put an end to his.

Both parties are aggressively raising money to spend in the presidential race. In addition to the unlimited amounts they can spend independent of their nominees, each can spend roughly $16 million in coordination with them.

Some observations:

1) Considering the amount of private funds available, I continue to object to the concept of about $200 million of public funds going into this process.

2) The problematic nature of the campaign finance system established by FECA is underscored by the disadvantage given Kerry for having an earlier convention. On the one hand, as argued at the time, those are the rules, so one has to live by them. On the other, it would be highly preferable simply to allow the candidates to raise funds through private donations throughout the entire campaign and dispense with the farce that we are controlling money and influence through this process.

3) The very fact that the parties are able to raise and spend more money than the candidates get in their grants (not to mention 527s and such) should put to rest the idea that money is being controlled by these laws.

On the solely political front:

a) It would appear that the Swift Boat Vets did damage in August, if anything by forcing Kerry to spend so much when he didn’t want to do so.

b) Bush is clearly in a far better position financially at this point, and one expects that the campaign will deftly use those funds. Meanwhile, the chaos at the Kerry camp calls into question how wisely they will manage their own monies. I will say, however, that the Kerry campaign has done a smart job of creating very specific commercials for the battleground states.