Implorando a los donantes

The New York Times:

Each plea for money from President Obama and his allies has become more urgent and desperate than the last.

His campaign’s chief operating officer said on Monday that “we’ve gotten our behinds handed to us.”

Vice President Joe Biden warned on the same day that Mr. Obama would lose if “the other side spends us into oblivion.”

Michele Obama worried aloud about waking up on election day “wondering if I could have done more.” And Al Gore, the former vice president, said victories by the “extremist fringe” would “spell disaster” for the country.

The answer, according to all of them? A donation of $3 (or more) by midnight on Tuesday. (The e-mails don’t say “Pretty please!” — yet.)

(...) “My upcoming birthday next week could be the last one I celebrate as President of the United States, but that’s not up to me — it’s up to you,” Mr. Obama said to his supporters in an e-mail late last week.

Accompanying the e-mail was a link to donate in exchange for a chance to attend his “birthday get-together” in August.

The dire hand-wringing is partly tactical for a campaign that is likely to have more than enough money to execute its strategy. By appearing desperate, Mr. Obama’s campaign hopes it can persuade more of its supporters to donate now, rather than later.

But in fact, Mr. Obama is facing a quandary his 2008 campaign team never even contemplated: a rival whose fund-raising operation appears better positioned to tap into both the deep pockets of wealthy donors and the economic frustrations of average Americans.

Julio terminó ayer. Pronto conoceremos lo que recaudó cada bando. Ser superado por tercer mes consecutivo sería especialmente problemático para Obama, considerando la intensificación de sus llamamientos a los donantes y que Romney ha pasado en el extranjero una cuarta parte del mes.