◼ Each plea for money from President Obama and his allies has become more urgent and desperate than the last. - Michael D. Shear/New York Times
...The urgent and repeated appeals, sent to millions of Mr. Obama’s supporters via e-mail and text messages, are a vivid reminder that the president’s campaign is likely to raise significantly less than Mitt Romney and Republicans for the third month in a row in July....
“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.
In May, that translated into a $17 million edge for Mr. Romney. The next month, the Republican candidate and the party apparatus took in $37 million more than Mr. Obama and the Democratic party structure....
Regardless of the real impact on Mr. Obama’s campaign operations, there’s an image problem to worry about.
The appeals for donations occasionally recall the “Everything 80 percent off! Going out of Business” sales that try to entice customers into the store. And yet, Mr. Obama’s campaign team has clearly calculated that it is willing to risk leaving that kind of impression if it means raising more money.
