In cash we trust

May 19th 2008 | NEW YORK
From Economist.com

Money still matters in America's election, but its role is changing

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BARACK OBAMA is the most prodigious fund-raiser in the history of American politics. In March, the latest month for which figures are available (new ones are expected soon for April), he raised $41m. Compare the freshman senator’s haul with that of the former first lady, Hillary Clinton, who is on first-name terms with more than a few billionaires. She raised $20m, an outstanding figure in any other context.

A further contrast is provided with John McCain. The Republicans traditionally enjoy a fund-raising advantage, but not this year (especially not if the Democrats’ pots of money are eventually combined). The Arizonan senator raised just $15m in March and has just seen a senior fund-raiser quit over links to lobbyists. Mr McCain will probably join the public financing system for the general election, which provides public money but puts limits on his spending. Mr Obama will thus have far more to throw around【~ sth around/over sb/sth; ~ sth on/off put (clothes, etc) on or off quickly or carelessly 匆忙或隨隨便便穿﹑ 脫﹑ 戴﹑ 摘﹑ 披（衣物等）: He threw a blanket over the injured man. 他急忙給受傷的人披上條毯子. * threw on his uniform （他）匆匆穿上制服 * threw off her coat （她）隨手脫下大衣.】, although Mr McCain may embarrass his rival for backing away from saying last year that he would “aggressively pursue” an agreement between candidates for both to take public financing.

But raw money may not be quite as important as it was long thought to be. Cash may—or may not—flow to strong candidates, but it does not simply make candidates strong. Consider the evidence from the Republican primaries, where the two best-funded campaigns were those of Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. The former sank slowly but inexorably无情的，冷酷的; the latter foundered after a delayed launch. In contrast, the dirt-poor非常穷的 campaign of Mike Huckabee ran strong for surprisingly long; he won the Iowa caucus【especially AmE) a meeting of the members or leaders of a political party to choose candidates or to decide policy; the members or leaders of a political party as a group: states will hold precinct caucuses on Tuesday to choose delegates to the parties' national conventions.】 and shook up the race. And Mr McCain, the eventual nominee, ran on 【run `on continue without stopping; go on 連續不斷; 繼續下去: The meeting will finish promptly I don't want it to run on. 會議要按時結束--不要拖延下去. * She does run on so! 她簡直沒完沒了! run (sth) on (of a line of type) continue without being indented to show the beginning of a paragraph; continue (a line of type) without indenting it to show the beginning of a paragraph （指印刷文字的一行）接下去不分段; 使（印刷文字的一行）接下去不分段. run on sth (no passive 不用於被動語態) (of thoughts, a discussion, etc) have sth as a subject; be concerned with sth （指思想﹑ 議論等）以某事物為主題, 涉及某事物: Her talk ran on developments in computer software. 她談的是計算機軟件的開發問題. * His thoughts kept running on recent events in India. 他一直想著最近在印度發生的事.】fumes for much of 2007.

Even rich campaigns covet 垂涎“earned media”, or positive coverage新闻报道 in the news, rather than the kind that is bought. Any number of expensive 30-second commercials would fail to counteract抵消，中和 a few bad news cycles in a row. Mr McCain’s strategy of granting the press close and frequent access, honed打磨，使锋利 in his 2000 presidential run, may have kept his campaign alive in the darkest days of last year. Nor is it clear that money has been an overwhelming boost推进，支援 to Mr Obama so far. He has flourished 【flourish  

/ &s12;fl&O52;r&O18;&O43;; ˋfl&O52;r&O18;&O43;/ v
[I] be successful, very active, or widespread; prosper 昌盛; 旺盛; 興旺; 繁榮: No new business can flourish in the present economic climate. 在目前的經濟氣候中, 任何新生意都興旺不起來. * a flourishing squash club 興旺的壁球俱樂部.
[I] grow healthily; be well and active 健康成長; 茂盛; 健壯而活躍: This species of flower flourishes in a warm climate. 這種花在溫暖的氣候中長得茂盛. * All the family are flourishing. 全家人身體都很好.
[I, Ipr] (of ideas or people) be very active and influential (during the specified period) （指思想或人）（在某時期）活躍而有影響力: In Germany the baroque style of art flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries. 在德國, 巴羅克藝術風格在17和18世紀非常盛行.
[Tn] wave sth about in order to attract attention to it 揮舞某物（以引起注意）: He stormed into the office, flourishing a letter of complaint. 他揮舞著一封投訴信衝進了辦公室.
> flourish n (usu sing 通常作單數)
1 bold sweeping movement or gesture, used esp to attract attention 明顯的大動作或手勢（尤用以引起注意的）: He opened the door for her with a flourish. 他瀟灑地為她打開了門.
2 flowing curve, esp in handwriting or decoration 流暢的曲線（尤指書法或裝飾方面的）.
3 loud and elaborate piece of music; fanfare 響亮而細膩的樂曲; 小號曲: A flourish of trumpets marked the Queen's arrival. 小號奏出嘹亮的樂曲歡迎女王駕到.

】because of his personality, his organisational savvy领悟能力，聪慧的 and disciplined message. The races in which he tried to overcome a deficit赤字 with Mrs Clinton through big spending (Ohio, Pennsylvania) he failed to turn around.

But Mr Obama’s fund-raising has given him one clear advantage: an army of small, activist donors. Such people are more likely than average to vote, and to volunteer to get others out. Battalions of such volunteers will produce a formidable强大的，可畏的 operation in November, one that was honed in the long primary season. His activists and his money may also help to lure new voters—notably the young and the black—to the polls.

Money matters in particular for television advertising, which is expensive and which will play a role in close states; less informed voters make up their minds late, influenced by television ads. Here, however, Mr McCain may be able to blunt使其钝 some of Mr Obama’s advantage. The Republican National Committee can spend on supporting his run. But so can outside groups, so-called “527s” (named after the section of the McCain-Feingold law that created them). Such groups can place political ads as long as they do not co-ordinate with campaigns, and as long as they do not explicitly明白的，明确的 endorse认可 a candidate.

Political ads can be both nasty肮脏的 and effective. Famously Lyndon Johnson ran one in 1964 to suggest that Barry Goldwater would be too quick with the nuclear trigger. In 2004 a devastating ad was taken out by “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth”, an outside group that disputed John Kerry’s heroism in Vietnam. Mr Obama has asked donors not to give to 527s this year, but rather to give directly to his campaign.

Finally, there is the wild card of the internet. With the maturation of YouTube and other non-traditional channels, neither campaign can control what is broadcast or watched. Several home-made ads had wide reach in the primary season. So while the Obama campaign’s wealth may be a sign of vigour, it guarantees little.