Obama and D.N.C. Set Up Fund-Raising Committee

NYT

Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee are establishing a joint fund-raising committee, a step that is usually only undertaken by a party’s presumptive nominee but in this case is being driven by how long it has taken the Democrats to settle their nomination fight.

The joint fund-raising agreement, which allows donors to write a single large check which is then divvied up between the candidate’s campaign and the party, was first reported by Time magazine’s The Page and confirmed by the Obama campaign.

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has already created a similar set-up with the Republican National Committee. Because the party can undertake activities on the candidate’s behalf within certain restrictions, the joint committees are usually created after it is clear who the nominee is and then used as a vehicle to raise more money because they take advantage of the much greater contribution limits for the national parties, $28,500, compared to just $2,300 for the primary and $2,300 for the general election for a candidate’s campaign.

But with the Democratic nomination dragging on, many within the party were becoming increasingly alarmed at the growing disparity in resources between the D.N.C., which had just $5 million in cash on hand at the end of March, compared to $31 million for the R.N.C.

“This is an effort to be a team player and make sure we have the resources we need,” said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign.