Short of cash, Clinton is forced to cut spending

Donor enthusiasm falls
Still, other top fund-raisers working for Mrs. Clinton said that enthusiasm among donors had fallen sharply and that they had little confidence there would be a financial turnaround. They said that some donors had questioned why they should give more money when another set of numbers — the calculus to win enough delegates for the nomination — seemed so against Mrs. Clinton at this point.

At the end of March, the most recent period for which figures are available, Mrs. Clinton had $9 million available for her primary bid, compared with $43 million raised in primary money for Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama also had less than $1 million in debt.

The Clinton campaign said it had been vastly outspent by the Obama campaign in Indiana and North Carolina, and statistics compiled by Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising expenditures, backs that up.

Mr. Obama spent $9 million on television advertisements in North Carolina and Indiana, including a last minute $170,000 purchase in the expensive Chicago market, which extends into northern Indiana. By contrast, Mrs. Clinton spent about $4.7 million in those states, according to CMAG.

'Winning by losing' strategy
Even more, said Evan Tracey, spokesman for CMAG, the fact that Mr. Obama was able to pump $10 million into media purchases in Pennsylvania in April, even though he did not win that state, forced Mrs. Clinton to spend $5 million, cash she could have used in Indiana and North Carolina.

“Barack Obama had a strategy of almost winning by losing,” Mr. Tracey said in an interview. “It was a wise use of his resources. He spent a lot of money there, even though he wasn’t going to win. But it forced her to spend.”

Mr. Nemazee declined to discuss Mrs. Clinton’s cash situation, other than to say that he assumed she was running low. But he said that the campaign had opened offices in states where contests are still to be held, including West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon. He added that Mrs. Clinton had also indicated a willingness to lend her campaign more money to keep it going.

“In terms of having the resources to be competitive and be able to wage a credible campaign, I have no doubt she is in a position to do so,” he said. “Now, can circumstances change? Of course they can.”

Alan Patricof, a national finance chairman for the Clinton campaign, said his sense was that the campaign was plunging ahead. He said a conference call had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon for top fund-raisers with former President Bill Clinton. A small group of fund-raisers is also scheduled to meet with Mrs. Clinton in Washington next week.

Leslie Wayne contributed reporting.

This article, Short of Cash, Clinton Is Forced to Cut Spending, originally appeared at The New York Times.

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