Bush Spends Half of $75M Grant in Sept.

[Longhorn]

By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush burned through more than half of his $75 million government grant to cover his general-election campaign costs in September, leaving him with just under $37 million left for the final month before the Nov. 2 election.

The Republican spent about $44 million in September and had $455,000 in bills to pay as October began, a monthly campaign finance report he filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission shows.

Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry each accepted full government funding for their general-election campaigns, blocking them from using private money to cover new campaign costs after they were nominated at their party conventions.

New campaign finance figures for Kerry were not immediately available; like Bush, he had to file a report by midnight Wednesday. Kerry, nominated by the Democrats roughly a month before Bush's Sept. 2 party nomination, must make his $75 million stretch a month longer.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041020/ap_on_el_pr/presidential_money

[lakeguy]

1. it doesn't matter....

he'll just put what he can't cover on the plastic like he did with the country.

[clydefrand]

2. What happens to the money in the legal fund if he doesn't use it?

Bush's legal fund had $8.2 million on hand as October began, its monthly report showed.

[4MoreYearsOfHell]

5. Somehow I think

he's gonna need that money in the legal fund...

[elehhhhna]

3. he sure knows how to blow through the bucks, huh?

[malachi]

4. He just blows. Period.

[nolabels]

6. Thanks

:D

[CatWoman]

7. that moron can't manage money. period.

his campaign ran all of those stupid, silly, insulting ads. cartoonish ads. the idiot.

we can't get rid of him fast enough.

[gratuitous]

8. Well now that IS good news

I hated August, when Kerry had to carefully manage his $75 million toward Election Day, and the Bush camp was putting out everything from the Swift Boat liars to the asinine wind-surfing pictures (yeah, and YOUR guy can't even manage a fucking Segway or a pretzel without help). All kinds of people were wondering why Kerry wasn't "fighting back," including some who should have known better (looking at Bartcop).

Now, here we are in the last couple of weeks, and it looks like the Bush burn rate leaves him with some hard choices to make, money-wise. Does he blow the wad trying to secure Florida? Split money between Florida and Ohio? Does he have any money available to spend in other close states?

Of course, being a Bush, he'll probably just overspend and take his lumps (if any lumps are to be handed out by a toothless and ineffective Federal Election Commission) somewhere down the line, say in 2006 or so.

[AndyTiedye]

9. * Calls Stump Speeches "Important Policy Addresses" and Airs For Free

He's done it twice in the past two weeks,
how many more will there be before the election?

Then there's the free air from Sinclair, and
the fawning from Fox, CNN etc.

and the Swift Liars with their bottomless budget....

[Longhorn]

10. That's a good point!

He also has government officials out campaigning for him like Rice. And he has the power to CREATE news just by virtue of his office.

But it does look like Kerry is in better shape financially than most Democrats are at this point in a presidential campaign.