Obama swamping McCain on TV

Nielsen Media Research today put some numbers behind Barack Obama's huge edge in campaign ads, fueled by his gargantuan advantage in fund-raising.

In seven key swing states -- Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia -- Obama ran more than double the number of ads between Oct. 6 and Oct. 22 than Republican rival John McCain, 53,049 to 21,106.

Obama has been most active on the airwaves in Florida, where he ran 15,887 ads during that period compared to 4,662 for McCain.

But the Associated Press is reporting that Obama is spending so much that even his record-shattering fund-raising isn't keeping pace.

Obama spent more than $105 million during the first two weeks of October, according to new campaign finance reports, but reported raising only $36 million during that period, about half the pace in September when he brought in a record $150 million.

McCain's spending is constrained by his decision to accept $84.1 million in public money for the general election. He had about $25 million left as of Oct. 15.