Convention blog

Category: The Michigan campaign

DNC airs first Michigan ad

The Democratic National Committee begins airing this add today in several Michigan markets, beginning today:

The ad is the DNC's first of the general election campaign, not just in Michigan but nationwide, the latest sign of the state's significance this fall.

Category: The Michigan campaign

FactCheck.org takes on Obama's auto ad

The independent Web site FactCheck.org says Barack Obama's Michigan-specific ad on auto issues misrepresents John McCain's position on loan guarantees for the auto industry.

The ad fails to mention that McCain has changed his position on the loan guarantees, according to FactCheck's analysis. Check out the full analysis there.

It's fair to mention that while FactCheck.org and other media sites have criticized McCain for misrepresenting Obama's tax plan, the Obama campaign's state-specific attacks on McCain have also stretched or bent the truth. FactCheck, for example, has raised questions about a Georgia ad linking McCain to a Jack Abramoff associate and a Nevada spot on nuclear waste issues. The site also has criticized an AFL-CIO mailer attacking McCain on a merger involving freight company DHL.

Category: The Michigan campaign

McCain, GOP outspend Obama on Michigan air

The McCain campaign and its allies outspent Barack Obama by about $2.5 million on the Michigan airwaves this summer, according to a report out today from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.

McCain, the Republican National Committee and allied groups spent nearly $8.1 million on Michigan television ads from Memorial Day to Labor Day, to about $5.5 million for Obama, the report found. In the Detroit market, McCain and Republicans spent $3.5 million, to $2.6 million for Obama.

McCain's campaign alone spent about $6.1 million, but the Republican also got much more help from outside groups. The RNC spent $1.1 million airing ads backing McCain, about half of that in Detroit. Two independent groups, Veterans for Freedom and the American Issues Project, spent about $700,000 more. The American Issues Project ads, attempting to tie Obama to 1960s radical William Ayers in the minds of voters, have been accused of violating campaign finance laws that bar nonprofit groups from explicitly attacking or supporting federal candidates.