DNC Is Not Duplicating the Fundraising Success of Party's Candidates

Neither ad is currently being shown, and the DNC's inability to stay on the air has been complicated by the recent collapse of Progressive Media USA. That organization, affiliated with a number of high-profile Democratic operatives, was expected to underwrite advertisements through the summer with the theme "McSame," aimed at defining McCain as a clone of President Bush.

A top DNC official said the real financial problems at the committee trace not to fundraising but to spending under Dean's regime.

From Jan. 1, 2001, when Terence R. McAuliffe took over the committee, through March 31, 2004, the DNC raised approximately $127 million in funds that could be spent directly on campaign activities. Between Jan. 1, 2005, and March 2008, the DNC raised $190 million. But the DNC had $27.5 million in the bank at this time four years ago, as opposed to $4.4 million now.

Paxton said the increased spending results from investments that the DNC has made in technology -- in particular, building an array of lists and collecting detailed demographic information about voters that officials hope will give the nominee a significant edge in the fall campaign. About $10 million was spent to develop a national voter file, an effort officials believe has been successful.

"These things cost money," Paxton said. "The advice we got from previous presidential campaigns is that we needed to invest in these things early. We could have sat on the cash, but I don't think that would have been a good investment."

The biggest point of contention between supporters and detractors of Dean's leadership of the DNC is the "50 State Strategy," the centerpiece of his chairmanship. The strategy is designed to make the party competitive throughout the country by, among other things, building a party presence in every state, including those that have not traditionally voted Democratic.

The program costs about $9 million a year, and some within the party think it is wasteful to spend on a party infrastructure in states in which Democrats are not competitive at the presidential level.

Dean's defenders argue that the program paid dividends in 2006, when Democrats picked traditionally Republican House seats in states such as Kansas. The program has shown more results this cycle, they contend, with special-election victories on GOP turf in Louisiana and Mississippi. The DNC had six staff members on the ground in advance of the special election in Mississippi's 1st District, where a Democrat won a seat Bush carried with 62 percent of the vote in 2004.

"Howard Dean is trying to walk the tightrope between supporting the 50 State Strategy and helping to win the presidency," said Steve McMahon, a Democratic consultant who worked for Dean in his 2004 presidential campaign. "And if anyone wonders whether the 50 State Strategy is worthwhile, they should simply ask newly elected Congressman Travis Childers of Mississippi."

The upcoming Manhattan fundraiser, coupled with other recent gatherings, suggest that the DNC is moving to remedy the situation. Alan Solomont, a Boston fundraiser and Obama supporter, said he expects that the presence of a presumptive nominee will help the party quickly close the gap with Republicans.

But the DNC has ground to make up. With McCain firmly in place as the presumptive nominee, his advisers have formed a "Victory Fund, which allows major donors to write a check for as much as $70,000. That total includes $28,500 for the party committee, $2,300 for the candidate and $10,000 for each of four state party committees.

In so doing, the RNC raised $7 million for McCain's presidential bid at an event in New York this month.