Obama campaign call affirms money anxiety #p2 #tcot

Leaked details of a plaintive phone call from President Obama to some of his biggest donors this weekend offered a rare and revealing look into the typically private rituals of big-dollar campaign fundraising.

The pitch also affirmed the campaign's anxiety about lagging behind in the money race.

In the conference call made late Friday from a special campaign phone on Air Force One, a recording of which was obtained by the Daily Beast, Obama bemoaned the anonymous super PAC donations flowing to his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.

"If things continue as they have so far, I'll be the first sitting president in modern history to be outspent in his reelection campaign," he said, according to the report.

If Democrats didn't write checks, Obama warned, such Republican PACs could permanently alter the political landscape. "The special interests that are financing my opponent's campaign are just going to consolidate themselves," he said. "They're gonna run Congress and the White House."

Obama was candid and contemplative in the 18-minute call with donors who had given him the maximum allowable amount in his last campaign, addressing concerns that some supporters might be less enthusiastic — and generous — than they were four years ago.

rest at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-campaign-call-affirms-money-anxiety/2012/07/01/gJQAqjIpGW_story.html?wprss=rss_courts_law