Obama campaign mulls what to do with $30M surplus

[Thrill]

WASHINGTON – Democrats carrying significant campaign debt after winning a string of House and Senate races are grumbling about President-elect Barack Obama's financial reserves, saying the party's leader is sitting on a pile of cash while Democratic leaders are broke.

Obama's organization retains some $30 million after his successful presidential bid, but it's unclear how the Democratic president-in-waiting might use the money. Members of his party are doing their best to appeal for the funds without appearing greedy, ungrateful or hostile to their new leader.

"If I was a top adviser to the president elect, I wouldn't necessarily be advocating saving those dollars," said Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "It was critically important that we not repeat what happened in '93, '94," when President Bill Clinton held the purse strings and Democrats lost 54 U.S. House seats and eight senators during midterm elections.

"We need the resources to build the national grass roots network for the Obama agenda. We need to make sure the president is successful and that the administration fulfills his promises," Buckley said.

The Democratic National Committee is carrying about $5 million in debt, with almost $12 million cash on hand. DNC officials say they expect to have the debt paid by the end of the year. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee carries some $19 million in debt and less than $3 million on hand. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is nearly $13 million in debt.

Obama raised more than $745 million during his marathon campaign, more than twice the amount obtained by his rival, Republican John McCain. In his latest finance report, Obama reported raising $104 million in more than five weeks immediately before and after Election Day.

"This is the first presidential candidate and president who has not been publicly financed in the general election," said Ken Gross, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer. "Every other president since Jimmy Carter has not had excess funds."

Obama opted not to participate in public funding system. In exchange, he was able to continue raising money, while McCain accepted $84 million in taxpayer money, and the spending restrictions that went with it, through the public financing system.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/ap_on_el_pr/obama_democrats