Obama returns to campaign mode

NEW YORK — NEW YORK President Barack Obama is opening a six-week burst of fundraising for Democrats, offering an early look at how he'll frame the messy health overhaul rollout and recent government shutdown for donors and voters ahead of next year's pivotal midterm elections.

After putting political events on hold for about a month, Obama was returning to campaign mode Friday in New York, first at a top-dollar fundraiser for House Democrats, flanked by film producer Harvey Weinstein and prominent CEOs before another, closed-door event benefiting the national Democratic Party.

Before the fundraisers, Obama visited a Brooklyn high school to showcase a rare partnership among public schools, a public university system and IBM that lets students finish high school with an associate's degree in computers or engineering. With budget talks set to resume next week, he urged Congress to put more money into education.

"I don't want to hear the same old stuff about how America can't afford to invest in the things that have always made us strong," Obama said. "Don't tell me we can afford to shut down the government, which costs our economy billions of dollars, but we can't afford to invest in our education systems. There's nothing more important than this."

Accompanied by Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayoral candidate who is leading in the polls going into the Nov.5 general election, Obama made a campaign-style appearance at Junior's, a Brooklyn landmark known for its cheesecakes. He shook hands, gave out hugs, posed for photos and bought two cakes to go.

His fundraising schedule condensed, Obama will headline at least nine fundraisers from Florida to Texas to California before the end of November for Democratic campaign committees. Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are holding their own events.

Traditionally the president is a party's most potent fundraising tool, and the effort isn't without potential reward for Obama. A return of Congress to full Democratic control next year would open the door to sweeping policies Obama would love to enact, but Republicans refuse to consider. After winning re-election last year, Obama vowed to go all-in for Democrats by holding at least 20 fundraisers ahead of the midterm elections.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Obama returns to campaign mode

NEW YORK — NEW YORK President Barack Obama is opening a six-week burst of fundraising for Democrats, offering an early look at how he'll frame the messy health overhaul rollout and recent government shutdown for donors and voters ahead of next year's pivotal midterm elections.

After putting political events on hold for about a month, Obama was returning to campaign mode Friday in New York, first at a top-dollar fundraiser for House Democrats, flanked by film producer Harvey Weinstein and prominent CEOs before another, closed-door event benefiting the national Democratic Party.

Before the fundraisers, Obama visited a Brooklyn high school to showcase a rare partnership among public schools, a public university system and IBM that lets students finish high school with an associate's degree in computers or engineering. With budget talks set to resume next week, he urged Congress to put more money into education.

"I don't want to hear the same old stuff about how America can't afford to invest in the things that have always made us strong," Obama said. "Don't tell me we can afford to shut down the government, which costs our economy billions of dollars, but we can't afford to invest in our education systems. There's nothing more important than this."

Accompanied by Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayoral candidate who is leading in the polls going into the Nov.5 general election, Obama made a campaign-style appearance at Junior's, a Brooklyn landmark known for its cheesecakes. He shook hands, gave out hugs, posed for photos and bought two cakes to go.

His fundraising schedule condensed, Obama will headline at least nine fundraisers from Florida to Texas to California before the end of November for Democratic campaign committees. Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are holding their own events.

Traditionally the president is a party's most potent fundraising tool, and the effort isn't without potential reward for Obama. A return of Congress to full Democratic control next year would open the door to sweeping policies Obama would love to enact, but Republicans refuse to consider. After winning re-election last year, Obama vowed to go all-in for Democrats by holding at least 20 fundraisers ahead of the midterm elections.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Brewer PAC adds cash to help Flake campaign

Gov. Jan Brewer's federal political-action committee has poured $100,000 into Republican Jeff Flake's U.S. Senate campaign, new federal filings show.

Federal Election Commission records show that Jan PAC spent the money on mailers on Flake's behalf.

Flake faces Democrat Richard Carmona in a race that has become one of the most closely watched in the nation and could help decide which party controls the Senate.

This is the governor's latest foray into Arizona's tightly contested partisan races -- she also has sunk money into the campaigns of GOP candidates seeking office in three of the state's congressional districts.

Carmona's campaign decried Brewer's intervention in the race.

"Jan Brewer was once begging Rich Carmona to run for governor," said Andy Barr, Carmona's spokesman. "This shows how broken and absurd our politics have become, that these career politicians only care if you have an 'R' or 'D' next to your name, not what you'd do for Arizona."

Andrew Wilder, Flake's campaign spokesman, said Flake's team doesn't comment on outside spending by supporters as a matter of policy.

The Flake mailers come a day after Jan PAC spent money in eastern Arizona's newly drawn Congressional District 1, one of the most competitive races in the nation.

Jan PAC, according to the state Democratic Party, "has launched a full-scale attack" on Democratic congressional candidate Ann Kirkpatrick, who is battling Republican Jonathan Paton, a former state senator.

Records show Jan PAC on Tuesday spent $35,567 on a mailer to attack Kirkpatrick.

The buy comes on the heels of Jan PAC's recent attack mailer on Congressional District 9 Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema, a former state senator.

Sinema is in a heated battle with Republican Vernon Parker for the right to represent the newly drawn congressional district.

"I think it's unprecedented for a sitting governor to double down on negative attacks," said Luis Heredia, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party. "And it does not create an environment of trying to solve problems facing Arizona voters if you have a governor who is extremely partisan. I don't go out on a limb by labeling her as the most partisan governor we've had in our state."

Paul Senseman, spokesman for Jan PAC, said the governor believes Flake is the better fit for the Senate post.

"The governor is very fond of Congressman Flake, and she believes he has the right temperament and leadership capabilities to best represent Arizona and hopefully find some new success and attention by the federal government," Senseman said.

Senseman described the Flake mailer as a "very positive piece."

Meanwhile, the committee on Tuesday spent an additional $29,651 on a mailer to support Republican Martha McSally, who faces Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Barber in Arizona's Congressional District 2 race.

The governor created the committee last year and has said it would be dedicated to "securing the border and restoring integrity to our immigration system, fighting 'Obamacare,' creating jobs (getting Americans back to work) and reducing the sea of government."

The PAC has raised about $587,000.

Brewer is tentatively scheduled to head to Colorado today, where she will be raising money for Jan PAC, The Arizona Republic has learned.

Staff writer Dan Nowicki contributed to this article.

Copyright 2012 The Arizona Republic|azcentral.com. All rights reserved.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Brewer PAC adds cash to help Flake campaign

Gov. Jan Brewer's federal political-action committee has poured $100,000 into Republican Jeff Flake's U.S. Senate campaign, new federal filings show.

Federal Election Commission records show that Jan PAC spent the money on mailers on Flake's behalf.

Flake faces Democrat Richard Carmona in a race that has become one of the most closely watched in the nation and could help decide which party controls the Senate.

This is the governor's latest foray into Arizona's tightly contested partisan races -- she also has sunk money into the campaigns of GOP candidates seeking office in three of the state's congressional districts.

Carmona's campaign decried Brewer's intervention in the race.

"Jan Brewer was once begging Rich Carmona to run for governor," said Andy Barr, Carmona's spokesman. "This shows how broken and absurd our politics have become, that these career politicians only care if you have an 'R' or 'D' next to your name, not what you'd do for Arizona."

Andrew Wilder, Flake's campaign spokesman, said Flake's team doesn't comment on outside spending by supporters as a matter of policy.

The Flake mailers come a day after Jan PAC spent money in eastern Arizona's newly drawn Congressional District 1, one of the most competitive races in the nation.

Jan PAC, according to the state Democratic Party, "has launched a full-scale attack" on Democratic congressional candidate Ann Kirkpatrick, who is battling Republican Jonathan Paton, a former state senator.

Records show Jan PAC on Tuesday spent $35,567 on a mailer to attack Kirkpatrick.

The buy comes on the heels of Jan PAC's recent attack mailer on Congressional District 9 Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema, a former state senator.

Sinema is in a heated battle with Republican Vernon Parker for the right to represent the newly drawn congressional district.

"I think it's unprecedented for a sitting governor to double down on negative attacks," said Luis Heredia, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party. "And it does not create an environment of trying to solve problems facing Arizona voters if you have a governor who is extremely partisan. I don't go out on a limb by labeling her as the most partisan governor we've had in our state."

Paul Senseman, spokesman for Jan PAC, said the governor believes Flake is the better fit for the Senate post.

"The governor is very fond of Congressman Flake, and she believes he has the right temperament and leadership capabilities to best represent Arizona and hopefully find some new success and attention by the federal government," Senseman said.

Senseman described the Flake mailer as a "very positive piece."

Meanwhile, the committee on Tuesday spent an additional $29,651 on a mailer to support Republican Martha McSally, who faces Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Barber in Arizona's Congressional District 2 race.

The governor created the committee last year and has said it would be dedicated to "securing the border and restoring integrity to our immigration system, fighting 'Obamacare,' creating jobs (getting Americans back to work) and reducing the sea of government."

The PAC has raised about $587,000.

Brewer is tentatively scheduled to head to Colorado today, where she will be raising money for Jan PAC, The Arizona Republic has learned.

Staff writer Dan Nowicki contributed to this article.

Copyright 2012 The Arizona Republic|azcentral.com. All rights reserved.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Campaign Videos Turn to Mocking Candidates

If you’re a talented video producer with a tendency toward scathing, sarcastic attacks, this appears to be your year.

The 2012 presidential campaign has become a battlefield of mocking, rhetorical missiles, many of them delivered in the form of cheap, quickly produced videos posted to the Internet and publicized by the campaigns on Twitter and Facebook.

But do they go too far, risking a backlash even as they go viral?

President Obama’s campaign and his Democratic allies are testing that thesis with a series of videos and TV ads that have made fun of Mitt Romney’s off-key singing, his awkward lapses into corporate-speak and even his wife’s beloved dancing Olympic horse.

That last one has already blown up in their faces.

In two videos produced by the Democratic National Committee, Mr. Romney’s words were juxtaposed with images of Ann Romney’s horse, Rafalca, performing the Olympic sport of dressage, or horse ballet, with a top-hatted man in the saddle.

“Do we really want a president who dances around the issues?” asks the video — which has been viewed 61,440 times.

Mr. Obama’s supporters clearly thought the video was funny. Mrs. Romney apparently thought otherwise. And it turns out that mocking the very serious hobby of a candidate’s wife — especially one who is extremely popular — is not a particularly good strategy.

The Democratic National Committee quickly apologized, saying that the “use of the Romneys’ dressage horse was not meant to offend Mrs. Romney in any way, and we regret it if it did.”

Perhaps the committee should have listened to Mr. Obama’s own advice, delivered earlier this year after a Democratic strategist criticized Mrs. Romney as never having worked a day in her life. In a television interview soon after, Mr. Obama suggested staying away from spouses.

“I haven’t met Mrs. Romney, but she seems like a very nice woman who is supportive of her family and supportive of her husband. I don’t know if she necessarily volunteered for this job so, you know, we don’t need to be directing comments at them,” he said.

But if Democrats are backing away from the horse images, they are by no means abandoning the posting of biting videos to drive home their message.

In a video released by Mr. Obama this week, a handful of people can be seen reading a transcript of Mr. Romney’s answer to questions about when he left Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded two decades ago. The voters trip over his awkward phrasing, making the video seem more like a segment on “The Daily Show” than a campaign ad.

“He says ‘entity’ a lot,” one person says, looking a bit confused.

Mr. Obama’s campaign also produced a television ad shown in nine battleground states that shows Mr. Romney singing “America the Beautiful” — badly. The idea was to contrast the song with images of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, where Mr. Romney reportedly kept money in offshore accounts.

Senior advisers to Mr. Obama said they believed the ad did not go too far. They said they were confident that voters would see it as a lighthearted way to make a point about Mr. Romney’s finances.

The Romney campaign disagreed, and quickly issued a statement accusing Mr. Obama of making fun of a great American song. “It is sad and shameful that President Obama would mock ‘America The Beautiful,’” the statement said.

The use of sarcastic videos is not limited to Mr. Obama’s campaign. Mr. Romney and his Republican allies have produced their fair share of attacks intended to become sensations on the Internet.

One recent video by the Republican National Committee shows Jay Carney, Mr. Obama’s press secretary, saying that the president has “a lot on his plate.” The video then goes on to show that Mr. Obama has golfed 10 times and held 106 fund-raisers in the last six months, while his jobs council has not met once.

The video then shows a fancy-looking dinner plate with $100 bills and golf balls on it.

In another golf-themed video (lest people forget that Mr. Obama plays a lot of golf), the Republican National Committee shows a golfer repeatedly missing the final put, while showing headlines about Mr. Obama’s economic policies.

This is not the first election to feature snarky videos. In 1988, video of Michael Dukakis wearing a helmet as he rode in a tank came to epitomize his awkwardness. And in 2004, an ad of John Kerry windsurfing was used by Republicans as a metaphor for his flip-flopping.

But it does seem as if a cadre of Democratic and Republican video producers have been busy for months creating a mountain of these attack videos, just waiting for the moment to unload them on the voters.

That moment seems to be now.

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Obama's Campaign Zeroes In on Romney's Wealth

3:46 p.m. | Updated Is Mitt Romney too rich to be president?

President Obama’s push on Monday to extend tax cuts for the middle class — but not for the rich — is being joined by a new, all-out effort from his allies to portray Mr. Romney as out of touch with average Americans.

On Sunday, Democrats seized on new reports about Mr. Romney’s offshore bank accounts to hammer the presumptive Republican nominee, accusing him of not being forthcoming about the sources of his multimillion dollar fortune.

By Monday, more of Mr. Obama’s surrogates were hitting the airwaves to mock Mr. Romney’s day of high-dollar fund-raisers at estates in the Hamptons. The Democratic National Committee created a video highlighting reports of bank accounts in offshore institutions.

Brad Woodhouse, the communications director for the Democratic National Committee e-mailed the video to reporters with the subject line: “Sunday Blood Sunday.”

Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program on Monday, Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama’s campaign, bluntly accused the Republican candidate of not giving voters the information they need to make a decision about his wealth.

“Release the tax returns,” Mr. Gibbs said. “Put all this to rest. If Mitt Romney is not hiding something in Bermuda and Switzerland and the Caymans, it will be in the tax returns.”

Mr. Romney’s allies hit back furiously against the suggestion that he was hiding anything. Dan Señor, an adviser to Mr. Romney, said on “Morning Joe” that Mr. Gibbs was being “stunningly dishonest” in his attacks.

“The reason we know about these accounts, as Robert knows, is because they are in the tax returns that Mitt Romney released,” Mr. Señor said. “We know this because he submitted this information.”

A statement from the Republican campaign called questions about Mr. Romney’s wealth an “unfounded character assault” and said it was “unseemly and disgusting.”

Mr. Romney’s personal wealth became a serious issue during the Republican primary campaign when his rivals demanded to see his tax returns. Mr. Romney eventually released two years of his returns.

But since then, Mr. Obama’s campaign has focused more directly on Mr. Romney’s role as a business executive, suggesting that his career was a boon to the wealthy and that he did not have the interests of workers at heart.

The campaign first attacked Mr. Romney’s former company, Bain Capital, for shutting down factories and laying people off. Then it turned to the issue of outsourcing, describing Mr. Romney’s company as a “pioneer” in moving jobs overseas.

Now, it looks as if Mr. Obama’s strategists are ready to focus once again more directly on Mr. Romney’s wealth.

Will it work?

Democrats are hoping to find the right mix of policy and politics by offering voters a striking contrast between Mr. Obama’s refusal to extend tax cuts for the wealthy and Mr. Romney’s desire to cut taxes for people like himself.

Last week, Democratic allies of the president’s repeatedly pointed to Mr. Romney’s vacation at his lakeside estate in New Hampshire of evidence of his being out-of-touch.

In the East Room on Monday, Mr. Obama drew the line just that sharply, saying that under the economic ideas of Republicans, “the wealthy got wealthier, but most Americans struggled.”

He did not mention Mr. Romney by name, but predicted that the fight over tax cuts for the wealthy would be resolved by the choice that voters make in the presidential election this November.

“My opponent will fight to keep them in place,” he said. “I will fight to end them.”

Mr. Romney’s advisers believe the effort to focus voters on Mr. Romney’s wealth will misfire. They argue that voters want the candidates to talk about how they will turn around an economy that has battered middle class people.

Polling suggests they may be right. A Washington Post / ABC News survey in April found that 71 percent of those surveyed did not believe that Mr. Romney’s wealth would be a major reason to support or oppose him.

The polling did suggest that for those who said it was a major factor in the decision, it was more likely to be a negative. But Mr. Romney’s advisers argue that the facts about his offshore accounts will make that less likely.

Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mr. Romney’s campaign, said on Fox News Sunday that the Republican candidate “hasn’t paid a penny less in taxes by virtue of where these funds are domiciled.” he said, “His liability is exactly the same as if he held the fund investments directly in the U.S.”

But for the most part, Mr. Romney’s advisers intend to try and ignore the attacks on his personal wealth. On Monday, they focused their responses on Mr. Obama’s renewed call to let the tax cuts for the wealthy expire.

“Americans are struggling in a ‘zombie economy’ and President Obama’s only answer is to pass one of the largest tax hikes in history,” said Amanda Henneberg, a spokeswoman. “President Obama’s tax increases on families and job creators will create more economic uncertainty and fewer opportunities for struggling middle-class families.”

UPDATE: Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr. Obama’s campaign, emailed Monday afternoon to say that the president is not targeting Mr. Romney because he is a wealthy individual.

“This is not our intention. It’s not about wealth,” Mr. LaBolt wrote. “There have been other wealthy candidates, nobody is out to demonize wealth.”

Instead, Mr. LaBolt drew a distintion between Mr. Romney’s wealth and what the Democratic spokesman called Mr. Romney’s lack of “transparency” when it comes to disclosing information about his financial situation.

“It’s about the fact that Governor Romney, who could be the first President in history to keep his finances offshore, has defied precedent and kept his tax returns secret even though they could prove whether or not he avoided paying taxes,” Mr. LaBolt said.

Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.

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Some Democrats Make Student Loans a Campaign Issue

With federal college loan rates set to double in less than two weeks unless Congress takes action, some Democrats are using the time until then to draw political capital from the hot-button issue.

The government-funded Stafford loans that are in limbo currently have an interest rate of 3.4 percent; the rate is set to go to 6.8 percent on July 1. Although many Democrats and Republicans agree that the rate should remain where it is, the parties haven’t been able to reach consensus about how to offset the cost.

Republicans have proposed taking money from the health care law and passed a bill in the House to that effect, in spite of warnings by President Obama that he would veto it. Democrats have proposed eliminating a loophole in Social Security and Medicare taxes for some high earners. Each side has accused the other of obstruction.

With progress stalled on Capitol Hill, some Democratic candidates have, in the same vein as Mr. Obama, taken the fight to the campaign trail to raise money and curry favor with voters.

Representative Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, spoke about the issue at a stop in Madison, which is home to the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus. Representative John F. Tierney of Massachusetts, who sponsored a version of the college-loan legislation in the House, e-mailed a video to constituents. And Paul Hirschbiel, a Democrat who is challenging Representative Scott Rigell in Virginia, appealed to supporters to “tell Congress to stop playing games with our children’s future” by donating to his campaign.

Republicans, meanwhile, have chided Democrats, saying that they defend the health care law at any cost.

Andrea Bozek, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the student-loan debate was an example of how policies backed by Democrats, like the health care overhaul, ultimately “have left college students with fewer job opportunities and more student loan debt.”

The underlying issue is not trivial: According to the most recent numbers released by the Department of Education, 46 percent of undergraduate students in the 2007-8 school year had at some point turned to the government for a college loan. More students are taking out loans, too: In 1989-90, just 27 percent of undergraduates borrowed money for school from the government.

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A Drop in Fund-Raising for the Obama Campaign

President Obama’s campaign took in $25.7 million in April, a significant drop from March, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission on Friday afternoon.

The drop-off — Mr. Obama raised $10 million more in March — signals a lull for the president as his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, has effectively locked down the Republican nomination and begun aggressively fund-raising for the general election campaign.

The Democratic National Committee, which Mr. Obama also raises money for, took in $14.4 million during April, less than it did in March. That brings Mr. Obama’s combined haul to about $40.1 million, not including money paid by the party’s joint committee for fund-raising expenses.

Mr. Romney’s campaign said this week that Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee, which have a similar joint arrangement, had also raised about $40.1 million. His campaign had not filed detailed disclosures with the F.E.C. as of Friday evening. The candidates are required to file by midnight on Sunday.

The Romney campaign confirmed that Mitt and Ann Romney put their own money into the 2012 campaign, giving $75,000 each to Romney Victory Fund, a joint initiative between Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee.

Both Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama are seeking to raise at least $750 million for their respective campaigns and parties this cycle, goals that make it likely that neither candidate will accept public financing for the general election. But Mr. Obama, who faced no primary challenge, is much further along: his campaign has raised over $233 million so far and reported more than $115 million in cash on hand at the end of April.

A spring slowdown is not unprecedented: in 2008, April and May were Mr. Obama’s weakest fund-raising months.

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Mitt Romney declining to disclose names of campaign bundlers

WASHINGTON – More than a month after becoming his party's presumptive presidential nominee, Republican Mitt Romney has not publicly identified most of the fundraisers helping him collect the millions of dollars he needs to win the White House, even as he promises them special access perks.

By Evan Vucci, AP

Mitt Romney is bucking the practice of other GOP candidates and not naming bundlers of large amounts of campaign money.

By Evan Vucci, AP

Mitt Romney is bucking the practice of other GOP candidates and not naming bundlers of large amounts of campaign money.

Romney is not required by law to disclose the identities of his fundraisers with the exception of those who work as federal lobbyists. Releasing the names of bundlers, however, has been standard in presidential campaigns for more than a decade.

Republican George W. Bush established the pattern in the 2000 election, revealing the names of fundraisers who collected at least $100,000. He repeated the practice in 2004. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee four years ago, had disclosed his fundraisers by this point in the 2008 campaign, releasing a list of 106 bundlers on April 18 of that year.

Romney's last serious challenger for the nomination, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, ended his campaign April 10.

President Obama has released his fundraiser list every three months during this campaign. His most recent disclosure, in mid-April, identified more than 530 individuals and couples who have raised at least $106 million. He reports their fundraising in broad ranges only.

Lawyers and law-firm employees account for about one out of every four Obama fundraisers, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. The list also is sprinkled with famous names, including director Spike Lee and actress Eva Longoria.

These fundraisers, known as "bundlers" for their ability to bundle together contributions from family, friends and business associates, are crucial to campaigns racing to amass cash to pay their aides and fund commercials and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Romney is seeking contributions of up to $75,800 per person to be split among his campaign and joint fundraising accounts with the Republican National Committee and several state parties. His campaign said those joint efforts brought in $40.1 million in April, nearly on par with the amount raised that month by Obama and the Democratic Party.

Campaign-finance watchdogs have pressed for Romney to disclose his bundlers. "Should he be elected, these people will be first in line seeking benefits from the new administration and the public won't even know who these people are and whether they are being rewarded for their role in getting Romney elected," said Taylor Lincoln, a research director at Public Citizen.

Romney campaign officials did not respond to several interview requests this week. Last year, campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul told USA TODAY that Romney discloses "the information about our donors as required by law."

Federal rules enacted after the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal require candidates to report fundraising by federal lobbyists. Altogether, 25 lobbyist-bundlers have collected more than $3 million for Romney's campaign, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Patrick Durkin, who lobbies on behalf of Barclays, an international banking firm, has raised the most — more than $927,000. He did not return telephone calls.

A widely circulated campaign document shows Romney is offering perks to his biggest fundraisers, including access at the party's convention in Tampa, a weekend retreat next month in Park City, Utah, weekly campaign briefings and a "dedicated Romney Victory Heaquarters" staff member.

Bundlers who raise $250,000 will be designated Romney "Stars." Those who collect $500,000 join the "Stripes" category and earn additional benefits, including access to presidential debates.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Obama Attacks Romney From the Left - Campaign Memo

Mitt Romney may be inclined to start moving to the political center now that he’s practically got the Republican nomination won and done, but the Obama campaign would much rather keep him right where he’s been for the past few months: in the conservative territory he staked out while battling for Republican primary voters.

After months of depicting Mr. Romney as the ultimate squishy, double-talking, no-core soul, Team Obama is shifting gears. Senior administration officials, along with Democratic and campaign officials, all say their strategy now will be to tell the world that Mr. Romney has a core after all — and it’s deep red.

Mr. Romney’s overheard remarks at a fund-raiser in Florida on Sunday night that, if elected, he planned to slash government programs (though he has not spelled that out for the voters) gave Obama backers the perfect opening, and they jumped on it. “Mitt Romney Tells Rich Voters His Secret Plan to Cut Housing Assistance,” said a headline from ThinkProgress, a blog put out by the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Democratic officials followed that up with a call to reporters on Thursday charging that Mr. Romney’s proposal would “cut critical funds for homeless veterans.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama’s advisers saw another chance, and they were all over that, too. Hours after Mr. Romney accepted the endorsement of Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, the Democratic National Committee was out with an ad “Mitt Romney and Tom Corbett: Too Extreme for Women.” The traditional spooky music accompanies video of Mr. Corbett defending his advocacy of a proposal that could make women undergo ultrasounds before receiving abortions, and saying women could “close their eyes” if they didn’t want to see what was on the screen.

“Did Mitt Romney close his eyes to accept this endorsement?” the D.N.C. said in an e-mail it helpfully sent to reporters trumpeting the advertisement. “Probably not, since Mitt Romney’s positions mirror those of the extreme elements of his party,” the e-mail continued, going on to list a host of conservative Romney positions that Democrats hope will alienate women.

For Mr. Obama, the decision to start going after Mr. Romney from the left is as much a logical evolution as is any attempt by Mr. Romney to move to the center, in particular Mr. Romney’s effort now to try to woo Hispanic and female voters who may have been alienated by some of the talk coming out of the Republican primary.

As the general election heats up, a central battlefield promises to be the fights for suburban women in crucial swing states like Florida, Ohio and Colorado, and both camps are now trying to prove their bona fides with that population. When added to recent data that shows an increase in Hispanic voters in key states, the Obama campaign sees an opening to paint Mr. Romney as out of touch among both women and Hispanics.

As far as the Romney campaign is concerned, officials say that efforts to paint their candidate as an extremist will not fly. “They are grasping at straws,” said Andrea Saul, Mr. Romney’s spokeswoman. “The Obama campaign first said President Obama was going to run on his record and the election would be a referendum on his handling of the economy. When it was clear that wouldn’t work, his team said they were going to adopt a ‘Kill Mitt’ strategy. Then came the plan to run against President Bush again, and then, against Congress. Next they tried to claim Governor Romney had no core.”

Ms. Saul said that while “each new day brings a different made-up attack from the Obama campaign, what doesn’t change is the fact that President Obama has failed and so is going to try to tear down Mitt Romney instead of talking about his record.”

Still, voters should ready themselves for reminders from the Obama campaign that Mr. Romney proposed eliminating Title X, the only federal program devoted to family planning, that he suggested letting the foreclosure process “run its course and hit the bottom,” and that he staked out a position on immigration that was to the right of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. The campaign will make certain it is well known that Mr. Romney just agreed to be the commencement speaker at the conservative Liberty University; in fact, within minutes of Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.’s announcement on Thursday, Democratic operatives were e-mailing the news around.

“Mitt Romney has spent the last two years taking the most extreme positions of his party, whether it’s on economic policy or social policy,” said Stephanie Cutter, the deputy campaign manager of Mr. Obama’s re-election team. “He can try to flip-flop to the center, but who is going to believe him?”

David Plouffe, a senior White House adviser, said in a telephone interview, “Whether it’s tax policy, whether it’s his approach to abortion, gay rights, immigration, he’s the most conservative nominee that they’ve had going back to Goldwater.” He added that “one of the key issues in the campaign is to make sure people know that.”

But what about David Axelrod’s Twitter feed, which has, nonstop for the past few months, seemed fixated on a depiction of Mr. Romney as the ultimate feather in the wind? (“Yesterday, Mitt predicted victory. Today, he says 3d would be fine. He can’t even stick to the same position on THAT!” Mr. Axelrod, an Obama adviser, said on Twitter on the morning of the Iowa caucuses in January.)

Obama strategists insist they’re not flip-flopping on the flip-flopper label, which they believe can serve them well at any given moment. But there appears to be a clear realization that for general election purposes, they may do better with an emphasis on Mr. Romney’s conservative stances.

The reason goes back to the very thing that has, all along, made Mr. Romney the candidate whom the Obama campaign has always viewed as the most formidable out of the Republican herd. Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, the architect of a health care plan which is remarkably similar to Mr. Obama’s signature domestic policy item, is still viewed among many  independents as something of a moderate, and as such, he is more dangerous to Mr. Obama in a general election than the rest of the Republican field.

That viewpoint made Mr. Romney vulnerable during the Republican primaries and at least partly explains his fierce embrace of conservation positions to offset Republican doubts. But it may make him tougher to beat in November. Mr. Romney himself seemed to acknowledge his need to move to the center during his overheard remarks on Sunday, when he told supporters that “we have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party,” and warned that big Latino support for Mr. Obama “spells doom for us.” While he did not explicitly endorse a Republican proposal to chart a path to legality for the offspring of illegal residents, he didn’t dismiss the idea either.

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Obama Campaign Faces Dropoff in Big Donations

From Wall Street to Hollywood, from doctors and lawyers, the traditional big sources of campaign cash are not delivering for the Obama campaign as they did four years ago. The falloff has left his fund-raising totals running behind where they were at the same point in 2008 — though well ahead of Mr. Romney’s — and has induced growing concern among aides and supporters as they confront the prospect that Republicans and their “super PAC” allies will hold a substantial advantage this fall.

With big checks no longer flowing as quickly into his campaign, Mr. Obama is leaning harder on his grass-roots supporters, whose small contributions make up well over half of the money he raised through the end of March, according to reports filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission. And Mr. Obama is asking far more of those large donors still giving, exploiting his joint fund-raising arrangement with the Democratic National Committee to collect five-figure checks from individuals who have already given the maximum $5,000 contribution to his re-election campaign.

“They clearly are feeling the pressure,” said one major Obama fund-raiser, who asked for anonymity to characterize his conversations with campaign officials. “They’re behind where they expected to be. You have to factor in $500 million-plus in Republican super PAC money.”

With no primary to excite his base, the economy struggling to rebound, and four years of political battles with Wall Street and other industries taking their toll, Mr. Obama’s campaign raised about $196 million through March, compared with $235 million at the same point in 2008. It has lagged behind its own internal quotas in some cities, according to people involved with the fund-raising efforts. But that has been offset by a highly successful joint fund-raising program with the national committee, which raised about $150 million, twice as much as in 2008.

Mr. Obama has held more than a hundred joint fund-raisers since last spring, far more than President George W. Bush during his 2004 re-election, and has tucked fund-raising stops into many of his official presidential trips.

The result: The national committee’s fund-raising from the technology industry, entrepreneurs, Wall Street and the entertainment industry have all risen sharply compared with 2008, even as the Obama campaign’s performance in those areas has tailed off, according to data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. And with no primary to fight, Mr. Obama is spending much less than he was at this stage in 2008: He had about twice as much money in the bank at the end of March than he did four years ago.

All told, Mr. Obama and the Democratic committee ended March with about $130 million in cash on hand, a sizable war chest and far more than Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee. Candidates typically raise more as the election nears, and Mr. Obama’s fund-raising accelerated sharply in the summer of 2008.

But Mr. Obama faces a major challenge in the months ahead. To raise as much money for his campaign as he did four years ago, the president would have to raise about $70 million a month through the end of the election cycle, more than triple the rate he has been bringing in cash so far.

Jim Messina, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, has publicly set a more modest goal, saying the campaign expects to exceed Mr. Obama’s 2008 fund-raising of about $750 million only by counting money he is raising for the national committee as well. That would require the campaign and the committee to raise about $51 million a month through November. Mr. Messina has also warned the party’s two Congressional campaign committees not to expect their traditional allotments of Democratic National Committee cash this year, money Mr. Obama is husbanding for his own efforts.

Mr. Romney, the likely Republican nominee, ended March with just $10 million in cash on hand, according to campaign reports filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission, and has raised about $87 million during the Republican primary season. His aides are hoping to raise a total of $800 million for the fall elections in combination with the Republican National Committee, which last week finalized a joint fund-raising agreement with Mr. Romney. The committee ended March with $23.4 million in cash on hand.

But Mr. Romney is also expecting significant support from Republican super PACs and other outside groups. On Friday, officials at American Crossroads, the leading conservative super PAC, reported that they had raised close to $100 million so far this year for the group and an affiliated organization, Crossroads GPS. Crossroads alone is aiming to raise as much as $300 million this year, while other conservative groups, like Americans for Prosperity, have aimed at raising close to $200 million.

The super PAC backing Mr. Romney in the Republican primary, Restore Our Future, has raised $51.9 million, and plans to raise twice that by November.

By contrast, the network of Democratic super PACs has raised far less. Democratic groups with close ties to the party’s Congressional leaders have raised about $18 million so far during the 2012 cycle. Priorities USA Action, founded by former Obama aides as a counterweight to Crossroads, raised about $9 million through the end of March.

To remain competitive, the Obama campaign has spent millions of dollars on high-tech, small-dollar prospecting. They have used sophisticated data mining techniques and low-dollar promotions — like $3-a-head raffles for dinner with the president — to reassemble the network of millions of supporters whose contributions helped propel him into the White House.

All told, about 58 percent of Mr. Obama’s total fund-raising during the election has come in checks of less than $200, compared with about 38 percent in 2008. In March alone, Mr. Obama took in $14.2 million worth of checks under $200 — more than all the money his campaign raised in February.

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Obama, DNC raised $53M in March for campaign

WASHINGTON – President Obama's fundraising gained strength in March, as he raised a combined $53 million for his campaign and the Democratic National Committee in preparation for the next phase of the campaign: the general election battle with Republican Mitt Romney.

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

President Obama greets supporters after speaking at a fundraiser in Burlington, Vt., on March 30.

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

President Obama greets supporters after speaking at a fundraiser in Burlington, Vt., on March 30.

Obama's March haul is nearly twice the $29.1 million he collected for himself and the party in January. In all, he has raised more than $350 million in this election cycle for his campaign and various party accounts.

Obama's camp outlined the fundraising in an Internet video Monday that featured donors who had given as little as $5. More than 567,000 people contributed to the campaign last month. Obama's campaign, however, has urged supporters to do more, noting that Republican super PACs and other GOP-affiliated outside groups are prepared to spend heavily to oust him.

"We're all going to have to dig even deeper," campaign manager Jim Messina said in the video. "It's going to take all of us working together."

The campaign did not disclose the size of Obama's cash reserves at month's end. Those totals and other details of Obama fundraising will become public later this week when presidential candidates file reports with the Federal Election Commission.

Romney has not yet released March fundraising totals, but he had collected a little more than $75 million through the end of February. This month, he began raising funds jointly with the Republican National Committee, which will run ads and conduct voter-outreach efforts in the months ahead.

The Republican National Committee (RNC), which started the election cycle mired in debt, is showing renewed strength. It raised $13.7 million in March, its best fundraising month of the election and ended the month with nearly $33 million in available cash.

Kirsten Kukowski, the RNC's spokeswoman, noted that Obama still lags behind his fundraising pace in March 2008, when he raised $42.8 million in his primary fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton without the benefit of the Democratic Party.

Obama's team counters they are using their cash stockpile to build a national campaign infrastructure.

Republican donors are more energized than they have been in a while, said Fred Malek, a top fundraiser in Arizona Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential bid who now is raising money for Romney. "It's going to be a record amount of fundraising on our side this year," he said.

In Romney, "we finally have a proven and experienced private-sector executive who knows how to create jobs," Malek said. "That's combined with an abject fear of four more years of President Obama and his policies."

Republican outside groups, including super PACs that can raise unlimited corporate money, have consistently outraised their Democratic counterparts.

For instance, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC supported by House Republican leaders, raised nearly $5.1 million during the first three months of the year, boosted by $5 million from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam. Adelson and his family have donated $16.5 million to help Republican Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign, and the donation demonstrates he also is willing to finance the party's establishment.

By contrast, the House Majority PAC, working to elect Democrats to the House, raised $1.5 million during the first three months of the year, new filings show.

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Obama raises $45 million in February for campaign, DNC

WASHINGTON – President Obama has stepped up his fundraising pace, amassing $45 million for his re-election and the Democratic National Committee in February before a likely spending spree by Republican outside groups in the general election, his campaign announced Monday.

By Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

President Obama appears at a Democratic campaign fundraiser in Bellevue, Wash., on Feb. 17.

By Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

President Obama appears at a Democratic campaign fundraiser in Bellevue, Wash., on Feb. 17.

The haul outpaces the $29.1 million Obama raised for himself and the Democratic Party in January. It still trails what he collected at this point four years ago as he made his first bid for the White House. Republicans called the lag a sign of voter weariness with Obama and the nation's economic struggles.

Obama made the fundraising announcement in an early-morning tweet, thanking the 348,000 people who donated last month. The campaign said nearly 98% of the contributions were $250 or less, and the average donation was about $59.

The fundraising news comes before campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission and another important test for the president's Republican rivals — Tuesday's primary in Obama's home state of Illinois.

"Every dime the Republicans are raising will be spent on the air carpet-bombing each other," Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said. "Our funds are a direct investment in our general election infrastructure on the ground."

Combined with his fundraising for the Democratic Party, Obama has collected about $300 million for the entire election cycle. In February alone, he headlined 15 fundraisers in California, Florida and Washington, according to data compiled by Brendan Doherty, a U.S. Naval Academy political scientist who tracks presidential activity.

The aggressive pace shows no signs of slowing. Last week, Obama attended five fundraisers on a single day - including an event with singer Cee Lo Green in Atlanta and another at the home of movie producer Tyler Perry, where attendees paid $35,800 each. Monday afternoon, he appeared at another $35,800-a-head event at the high-end W Hotel in downtown Washington.

Republicans note that Obama raised less this February than the $56.8 million he raised in February 2008 amid his fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said Obama "is having a hard time convincing voters he deserves another term."

Obama's campaign did not disclose how much money went into his campaign account directly in February vs. accounts shared with the national party.

He has consistently outraised the Republicans vying to replace him. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who leads the GOP field in fundraising, announced collecting $11.5 million in February. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum collected $9 million last month. Other GOP candidates have not released full details of their February fundraising; those reports are due to the Federal Election Commission by midnight Tuesday.

Overall, Republican candidates have raised far less than GOP presidential contenders at this stage in the 2008 election. Instead, they have relied heavily on new super PACs that can raise and spend unlimited money.

In Illinois, a pro-Romney super PAC had spent $2.6 million as of midday Monday, more than eight times the spending by a super PAC aligned with Santorum.

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Obama Embraces National Security as Campaign Issue

At the same time, the Obama campaign is seeking to portray Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee, as a national security neophyte whose best ideas are simply retreads of what the president is already doing, and whose worst instincts would take the country back to the days of President George W. Bush: cowboy diplomacy, the Iraq war and America’s lowest standing on the international stage.

In the coming weeks, Obama advisers plan to release a list of national security “surrogates” — high-profile Democrats like former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Wesley K. Clark, a retired general — who will write newspaper op-ed articles, give speeches and take Mr. Romney to task every time he opens his mouth about foreign policy, Obama advisers said.

The plan is to draw a contrast between Mr. Obama — who, his advisers say, kept his word on ending the Iraq war, going aggressively after Al Qaeda and restoring alliances around the world — and Mr. Romney, who will be portrayed as playing both sides of numerous issues.

“He was for and against the removal of Qaddafi, for and against setting a timetable to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan, for and against enforcing trade laws against China, and while he once said he would not move heaven and earth to get Osama bin Laden, he later claimed that any president would have authorized the mission to do so,” said Ben LaBolt, press secretary for the Obama campaign.

The more aggressive posture is a break from the past, when Democrats on the national stage battled against the perception that the party was not as committed as Republicans were to a strong defense and an aggressive response to terrorism. Mr. Obama himself, during the 2008 campaign, drew criticism from both Republicans and his primary opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton, for what they called his naïveté, particularly over his willingness to talk, without preconditions, to American foes like Iran.

But Mr. Obama’s victory that year over Senator John McCain, a Vietnam War hero, was in part a result of an electorate weary from years of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, with a record that includes winding down the Iraq war and killing Bin Laden, coupled with the success of the military strikes in Libya and the removal of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, political and national security experts have embraced the Obama campaign’s belief that this could be the year when national security issues actually help a Democrat.

“Barack Obama’s position in foreign policy is substantively stronger than that of any other Democratic candidate in recent memory,” said David Rothkopf, the chief executive and editor at large of the Foreign Policy Group. “The general Romney refrain of ‘I can do better’ is easily defused with one word: ‘How?’ ” 

Of course, Mr. Obama will have to fend off criticism on Afghanistan, where he has announced a withdrawal date for American troops even as the political situation remains tenuous, with reconciliation talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in disarray. But even on this issue, Mr. Romney’s criticism — that Mr. Obama should listen more to his generals — has not had much resonance with a public that polls show to be increasingly disillusioned with the American presence there.

Mr. Rothkopf’s description of the Obama counteroffense played out late last month, when Mr. Romney’s national security advisers sent an open letter to Mr. Obama via the conservative magazine National Review. The letter took the president to task over a host of issues, from Israel — which the Romney team said Mr. Obama had not done enough to support — to Iran, Afghanistan and Venezuela, where President Hugo Chávez, Mr. Romney’s advisers said, is growing in influence under Mr. Obama’s lax watch.

Within 24 hours, the Obama campaign struck back, this time choosing Foreign Policy magazine for its counterpunch. Beyond taking on each of the Romney letter’s accusations point by point, the Obama letter, signed by 18 mostly Democratic-leaning national security experts, demanded that Mr. Romney say what he would do instead.

“What specifically would you do to address the Iranian threat that is different from what President Obama is already doing?” the letter said. “Why did you call Russia ‘without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe,’ especially when strategic cooperation with Russia is essential for countering the Iranian nuclear threat?”

And finally: “What did you mean when you said, ‘It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person,’ referring to Osama bin Laden?” the letter said.

“We are so eager for this debate to happen,” said Michèle Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense who is now one of the Obama campaign’s national security surrogates. “If Romney is the Republican challenger, and he is going to make national security an issue, the president’s record is very strong and speaks for itself.”

A host of other Obama national security surrogates went after Mr. Romney last week, after he jumped on Mr. Obama’s open-microphone slip a few days before, during which the president was overheard telling Russia’s president, Dimitri A. Medvedev, that he would have more flexibility to deal with Russian concerns over the American missile defense system after the election in November.  Russia, Mr. Romney told CNN later, is “without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe.”

The Obama campaign released a flurry of statements from pro-Obama foreign policy notables taking Mr. Romney to task. “His national security priorities seem to shift opportunistically each week, from threatening war with Iran to calling Russia our biggest geopolitical foe,” said Richard J. Danzig, the Navy secretary under President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Romney, of course, has his own national security surrogates. Richard S. Williamson, who was Mr. Bush’s special envoy to Sudan, said Mr. Obama’s national security record left plenty of room for Mr. Romney to attack.

“The world is better off because Osama bin Laden is dead. The world is better off because Muammar Qaddafi is dead,” Mr. Williamson said in an interview. “But two deaths do not a foreign policy make.”

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Barack Obama campaign announces $68 million raised with DNC (The Ticket)

Jim Messina, campaign manager for President Barack Obama's re-election effort, announced in an online video early Thursday morning that the campaign has raised some $68 million in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee over the past three-month cycle of fundraising. But while Messina touted the Obama operation's big-money gains, he also put in an appeal for additional financial support from Obama backers.

"Too many Obama supporters think we don't need their money, or [that] they don't need to give it now," Messina said. You can watch the video below:

Messina highlighted the large number of first-time donors--200,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011-- and noted that the support from Americans who've never before contributed to the campaign signals enthusiasm on the Democratic side.

Overall, the fourth-quarter total was still less than the Obama Victory Fund and the Democratic National Committee reported raising together in the third quarter ($70 million) or in the second quarter ($86 million).

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Feinstein sues treasurer, bank over campaign fraud (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Sen. Dianne Feinstein's campaign filed a lawsuit Friday against a bank that handled accounts for a prominent Democratic campaign treasurer accused of looting millions of dollars from the war chests of local, state and federal politicians.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, names First California Bank, treasurer Kinde Durkee, Durkee's firm and two business associates, including her husband, who is a partner in her business. The filing comes two days after state financial regulators launched an investigation into how the bank managed the dozens of accounts Durkee maintained at First California, based near Los Angeles in Westlake Village.

"A fraud of the scale alleged herein could not have occurred, and did not occur, without the knowing involvement of First California Bank," the lawsuit reads. "In exchange for fees and profits, First California Bank intentionally ignored dozens of red flags, ignored its duties and obligations under state and federal law and allowed Durkee to perpetuate the scheme."

The bank's chief marketing officer, Diane Dickerson, said the company had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment. Durkee's attorney, Daniel Nixon, also did not return a call.

The longtime treasurer, who controlled more than 400 accounts, was charged earlier this month with mail fraud by federal prosecutors who alleged she siphoned nearly $700,000 from a state candidate's campaign to pay her credit cards, a mortgage, business bills and her mother's care at an assisted-living facility. She then shifted funds from other candidates' accounts in an elaborate shell game to cover up the wrongdoing, prosecutors allege.

She admitted to authorities that she had been misappropriating her clients' money for years, according to the criminal complaint.

The scope of the scandal remains unclear even weeks after Durkee's arrest, but Feinstein estimates in the court papers filed Friday that she lost "millions of dollars" from at least two campaign committees, Feinstein for Senate and Fund for the Majority.

The complaint spells out several examples of alleged wrongdoing, including two instances of illicit transfers from Feinstein's campaign accounts this summer.

In the first, Durkee transferred $80,000 from one of the senator's accounts in two transactions and then re-deposited the same amount in the account three weeks later, the lawsuit alleges.

In the second, she took $100,000 from another Feinstein account and re-deposited it the same day, the court papers allege.

She has not been able to determine her exact losses because First California has refused to give her access to her accounts without a letter absolving the bank of any responsibility — which Feinstein won't sign, said Bill Carrick, her lead strategist.

The bank announced last week that it was seeking to have a judge sort out who owns the money in dozens of hopelessly co-mingled Durkee-controlled accounts — essentially putting a freeze on the money.

"I think our point of view is we want a full accounting of all these bank accounts so we know what happened and then we want to be reimbursed for everything that was wrongfully taken," Carrick said. "All of this happened inside that bank so they had full knowledge .... of this whole scheme."

The growing implications of Durkee's arrest have put the spotlight on an insular political culture that allowed one person to hold the purse strings for a clientele that left no levels of the party unscathed, from local mayoral candidates and small Democratic clubs to state politicians to federal lawmakers such as Feinstein.

Dozens of small Democratic clubs and medium-sized political action committees also may have been wiped out.

Durkee got most of her clients through word-of-mouth within the party. Smaller clubs were often steered toward her independent firm, Durkee & Associates, by local party bosses because she offered grass-roots groups her services at free or dramatically reduced rates.

She has been released on bond and is scheduled to make a court appearance Oct. 19 in Sacramento.

More charges are possible, authorities have said.

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Democrats launch massive ad campaign against Republican Medicare position (Daily Caller)

The Democrats’ “super” PAC launched a six-figure ad campaign Monday, just months after accepting sizable donations from wealthy liberals including that scorn of the right, George Soros.

The House Majority PAC’s radio ads will cover familiar ground for Democrats: attacking Republican congressmen for their votes in favor of Paul Ryan’s controversial budget plan that would significantly overhaul Medicare. The ads will also focus on Republicans’ personal spending and tax cuts for corporations.

The ads will target two Republicans in Arkansas, as well as Rep. Steve King in Iowa, New Hampshire’s Charlie Bass, and House members in Nevada, Illinois and Minnesota. The 30-second spot against Colorado’s Scott Tipton offers a glimpse of continued nationwide attacks on vulnerable GOP lawmakers, as Democrats hope to win back the House majority they lost in 2010.

Listen:

This is the second round of attacks from the super PAC, which recently received some hefty backing from Soros and others during last month’s special election in New York. The billionaire liberal philanthropist gave the group $75,000, which contributed to the $800,000 the House Majority PAC raised in the two months before Democrat Kathy Hochul won the seat, according to Politico. Formed after the recent Citizens United Supreme Court decision, super PACs allow for the raising of unlimited funds.

Extensive as the liberal PAC’s financial prowess is, it pales in comparison to Karl Rove’s conservative American Crossroads, which launched its $5 million dollar campaign today. The conservative ads focus on Obama’s biggest Achilles’ heel: his stay-the-course policies amidst a still-floundering economy.Read more stories from The Daily Caller

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The Obamas Give First Stump Speeches of the 2012 Campaign (The Atlantic Wire)

The Obamas delivered 2012 stump speeches at Democratic National Committee fundraisers in Miami and and Los Angeles Monday, reminding supporters that "We are not done," as the first lady said. President Obama is working to win back the Democratic donors who've soured on him since 2008, reminding them that "Big changes don't happen overnight.... The reason we're here today is because our work is not done."

Barack Obama's first stop was at a $10,000-a-plate dinner at the home of Samsonite's former CEO Steven Green, who also served as Clinton's ambassador to Singapore. Then he hit the "Obama Victory Fund 2012 Kick-Off Reception," which cost between $250 and $2,500 a ticket. Then he moved on to a dinner event at the home of J.P. and Maggie Austin, which cost attendees $35,800 per person, CBS4 reports. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama went on her first fundraising trip without the president, speaking at two fundraisers, filming a guest spot on the Nickelodeon show iCarly, and sitting on a panel with Second Lady Jill Biden and J.J. Abrams and urged Hollywood to portray the military in a more positive light.

Related: Is Nancy Pelosi Getting Sidelined by Steny Hoyer?

Both Obamas' addresses sounded like stump speeches. They ticked off the president's accomplishments on health care and financial regulatory reform. "Oh, and along the way," Barack Obama reminded donors, "we did a few other things" like repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell and appoint two women to the Supreme Court. Some liberals are pretty frustrated with the president, and both Obamas insisted the president had faced an uphill battle. "It’s going to be long," the first lady said. "It is going to be hard. I joke, did you ever think Barack Obama was going to be easy? Was there ever anybody here who just thought he’d just trounce in and fix everything, Barack Obama?"

Related: Dems Form Group to Rake in Secret Donations

The Obamas have some work to do in reassuring donors, The Wall Street Journal's Carol E. Lee and Jonathan Weisman report. Hillary Clinton supporters, especially, are reluctant to bundle contributions from friends, and even reelection adviser David Axelrod acknowledges donors have been neglected. "I don't think we have been particularly attentive to the so-called care and feeding of donors," Axelrod told The Journal. "I think it was largely a function of the fact that the president and everybody around him was absorbed in dealing with some fairly significant challenges."

Related: Here Comes the Government Shutdown

But rekindling donor romance has not always been easy, The Journal says. Take this incident, for example:

At a recent gathering of major donors here, former National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, who headlined a breakout session on the economy, got into an exchange with a donor that resulted in the man walking out of the session, according to people at the event.

The donor told Mr. Summers that he'd had trouble getting approved for a loan, according to people present. After the man repeatedly returned to his personal troubles, Mr. Summers said that no one at the conference--where attendees were asked to raise $350,000--was experiencing the kinds of financial difficulties faced by ordinary Americans. The man got frustrated and left the room, people at the event said.

Tuesday Obama will be in Puerto Rico for another fundraiser. Puerto Ricans gave $4 million in federal campaign donations in 2008, $354,000 of them to Obama, ABC News' Devin Dwyer reports. Obama is the first president to honor the island with an official visit since John F. Kennedy went in 1961. Dwyer writes,

The symbolism of the trip might hold the greatest significance for Obama and Democrats, however, generating goodwill with the booming Puerto Rican population living inside the United States, particularly Florida, where they can cast presidential ballots next fall.

Fewer grumpy donors there, perhaps.

Related: Obama: I Don't Have Horns

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