It's the Money, Stupid

(AP) - Barack Obama's media-evading campaign manager is writing a book about the historic election victory, and has retained his old boss' literary rep to shop the proposal to publishers. The Audacity to Win will give an inside look at the Obama run and also advice for how to manage a large organization. David Plouffe says the book will be high on tactics and low on gossip. More »

(Newser) - A secretive group of wealthy gay activists who call themselves the Cabinet has been pouring huge sums into defeating anti-gay political candidates across the country, Time reports. The seven members of the Cabinet are estimated to have injected at least $7.8 million into races nationwide since 2004, and have earned a reputation in the gay community as a sort of "homosexual justice league." More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s money machine has kept rolling thanks, in part, to a series of intimate fundraisers headlined by his top advisers, Politico reports. In exchange for a mere $28,500, Obama supporters could snag seats at a dinner with Warren Buffett or a “Round Table Discussion” with Robert Rubin. Slimmer wallets could attend a reception with John Kerry for as low as $250. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s small donors have grabbed the headlines this election, but the latest campaign finance reports reveal that big donors have been playing their biggest role in ages, the New York Times reports. Both candidates have used joint committees, which raise money for both the candidates and their parties, to subvert the $2,300 individual donation limit, allowing donors to give tens of thousands with one check. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama scored $150 million in September, he said today, a monthly record that brings his fundraising total to another record topping $600 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The previous monthly record was Obama’s $66 million in August. Those figures give the Democrat a big leg up in TV advertising in battleground and typically red states. More »

(Newser) - Goldman Sachs has given Washington plenty of reasons to help it out—43 million reasons, to be precise. Goldman bankers have been the nation’s biggest campaign contributors this year, and have poured more than $43 million into lobbying and campaign war chests since 1989, ABC News reports. “They are almost in a class by themselves,” one analyst said. More »

(Newser) - A firm owned by John McCain's campaign manager received $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until the mortgage giant was taken over by the government this month, insiders tell the New York Times . McCain insisted just days ago that it's been years since aide Rick Davis had any contact with Freddie Mac. More »

(Newser) - The McCain camp launched another attack on the media yesterday, this time blasting the New York Times as "biased" for its report linking the campaign to lobbyists for Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae. A spokesman called the Times a "pro-Obama advocacy organization" after the paper revealed that campaign manager Rick Davis received $2 million when he was a lobbyist to shield the loan giants from tougher regulations, reports the Washington Post . More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama has built his campaign on being a Washington outsider, and won’t accept contributions from registered federal lobbyists. But Obama’s candidacy is far from untouched by special-interest cash, Matthew Cooper writes in Portfolio . The wives of more than 20 Washington lobbyists have donated to the Democrat, who also accepts contributions from state lobbyists, partners of law firms that lobby in Washington, and CEOs. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama pulled down $11 million between two star-studded Hollywood fundraisers last night, in the biggest single-night take of his campaign, reports the Los Angeles Times. The candidate mixed it up with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Chris Rock, and Barbra Streisand —who capped off the night with a performance —as John McCain took the opportunity to mock the celebrity shindig before a working-class Ohio crowd. More »

(Newser) - Coming into the home stretch, the Republicans have about twice as much campaign money on hand as the Democrats, reports Bloomberg—about $200 million to $95 million. Though Barack Obama has raised record sums, the Democratic National Committee’s current $17.5 million lags far behind the GOP’s $76 million. These committees may continue to raise and spend money to support their candidates, so long as they don’t coordinate strategy. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama raised more money in August than any presidential candidate ever, but he’s still desperate for cash, reports Politico. Obama has $77 million in the bank, close to the $85 million John McCain has to spend this general election. But McCain will benefit from outside “independent” groups Obama has spurned, and a brimming RNC war chest. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama raised more than $66 million in August, besting his past fundraising record and pulling in the best monthly tally in US political history, says an aide. Topping February's $55 million, the take "demonstrates how the increasingly heated, nasty race has energized Obama's fundraising," writes Ben Smith in Politico. The campaign also added 500,000 new donors during the month. John McCain raised $47 million in August. More »

(Newser) - Candidates running for Congress are increasingly using affluent ZIP codes outside their own districts as "political ATM machines" to fund their campaigns, a new study finds. In the majority of House races in 2004, almost three-quarters of contributions came from donors outside a lawmaker's district—often from Hollywood, Manhattan's Upper East Side, and other white, moneyed areas. Today's donors are “urban, highly educated, and employed in elite occupations," reports Miller-McCune magazine. More »