DNC uses limited resources to attack McCain

The cash-strapped Democratic National Committee (DNC) is taking to the airwaves to go after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), launching an ad while its two remaining presidential candidates continue to battle each other.

The DNC on Tuesday will begin airing an ad that continues a line of attack the committee and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have used repeatedly, pulling comments from a GOP debate in which McCain said Americans economically “are better off overall” than they were eight years ago, before President Bush took office.

{mosads}“While John McCain is out trying to reintroduce himself to the American people, we want to make sure voters have all the facts, so that they have the chance to know the real John McCain," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

The DNC, which said the ad is airing on national cable but did not say how big the buy is, had $5.3 million cash on hand at the end of March, which was only slightly more than it had at the end of February. At the end of the ad, the DNC asks for donations to keep it on the air.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the only major national GOP committee outraising its Democratic counterpart, and it boasted more than $31 million in cash at the end of March. The GOP is also expected to benefit in the presidential race from the involvement of outside groups like Freedom’s Watch.

Republicans have called the DNC’s economic tack against McCain dishonest, stressing that McCain qualified his comments by saying that many people are still struggling.

In response to the ad, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan referenced the DNC’s finances, suggesting it could not sustain an effective ad buy.

“Echoing Obama’s discredited attacks on John McCain will not make voters forget the Democrats’ plans to raise taxes on hard-working Americans,” Duncan said. “The FEC reports that have been filed will show that the RNC maintains a huge financial advantage over the DNC, and to the extent Howard Dean can afford to actually run these ads, it will be out of a position of weakness.”