Opinion: Campaign manager says McCain has Obama right where he wants him

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Yes, Barack Obama raised a jaw-dropping $150 million, and the Democratic National Committee raised another $49 million-plus last month. Then there is a separate Obama committee that delivered millions more.

But it’s not as if John McCain is a pauper.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis admires Obama’s historic fundraising exploits from a professional standpoint. But In a phone call with reporters today, Davis said his candidate will have plenty of money to wage a winning campaign.

Indeed, McCain entered October with access to $140 million--including almost $47 million in his account, $77 million in the Republican National Committee’s account, plus almost another $15 million in various state accounts.

Davis estimated that with McCain’s $84.1 million in federal funds, plus money being raised by the RNC and so-called joint fundraising committees, McCain will have had access to $400 million for the general election from the start of September to Nov. 4.

‘I think I can win a race with close to $400 million in two months,” Davis said.

Davis explained why McCain continues to campaign in Pennsylvania by proclaiming: “We love Pennsylvania.” He noted that Obama lost the primary there even though some pundits had predicted he might win.

Davis said he believes McCain will win most states that President Bush won four years ago, putting him at 260 electoral votes, and then will need to win one of the larger states in play such as Pennsylvania, or two of the smaller states, such as Iowa and Nevada.

He acknowledged all the problems faced by McCain: the Wall Street crisis, an “immensely unpopular president,” “right track in single digits,” plus all of Obama’s money.

“We’re holding our own,” Davis said, adding, “We think money is not going to decide this race.”

--Dan Morain