The Trail

PILING ON THE GOLD

Obama Campaign Buys Millions in Olympic Ads

Barack Obama has bought $5 million in national advertising on NBC and its cable channels during their broadcast of the Olympic Games, the network said Wednesday night.

The deal is believed to be an unprecedented political media buy for an Olympics. National network advertising is highly unusual in politics, both because of its expense and because it reaches audiences that are not necessarily targeted by a campaign.

The Games in Beijing will begin Aug. 8 and run through Aug. 24, concluding the day before Democrats start their national convention in Denver.

-- From News Services

MUTUAL HELP ON CAMPAIGNS

Senior Obama Aide Reassures Democrats

Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, made his first extended appearance on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning, huddling with House Democrats behind closed doors for nearly an hour and assuring them that Obama will be helping their election bids -- and that they will be asked to help his.

Since the senator from Illinois sealed the Democratic nomination, some congressional Democrats have grumbled that his campaign was operating too much on its own, often leaving them in the dark. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a national Obama co-chairman, acknowledged the discontent but said it has faded since the campaign completed its general-election reorganization.

"What people are waiting for are the marching orders," Schakowsky said after Plouffe's presentation.