Obama Spent $740.6 Million to Win Presidency Outspent McCain 4-to-1 Last 9 Weeks

See Bloomberg at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=anLDS9WWPQW8
Spending Doubled as Obama Led Billion-Dollar Campaign
By Jonathan D. Salant - December 27, 2008

■ "In capturing the presidency, Obama, 47, became the first major-party nominee to reject federal funding for the general election. He spent $740.6 million, eclipsing the combined $646.7 million that Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry spent four years earlier."
■ "McCain spent $227.7 million; among Republicans, that was second only to Bush’s $269.4 million in 2004."
■ "Arizona Senator McCain, unlike Obama, accepted $84.1 million in public financing for the general election, a decision that barred him from raising money privately. Obama outspent him by a 4-to-1 margin from Sept. 1 through Nov. 24, FEC records show."
■ "The League of Women Voters, Democracy 21 and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group are among the organizations urging congressional overhaul of campaign financing. 'The way Washington works is not going to change until we fundamentally change the nation’s campaign finance laws,' they said."