Obama’s flush with cash uses that advantage by buying up media time in ways that McCain cannot

The Obama team bought time on CBS, NBC and Fox for about $1 million per network. The spot airs at 8 p.m. EDT. It is also scheduled to run on Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One. Flush with cash from his record-shattering fundraising, Obama uses that advantage by buying up media time in ways that McCain cannot.

And negative is the tone for the latest Obama ad, a 30-second spot aimed at key states that uses McCain's own words against him and mocks running mate Sarah Palin. Three quotes, one from 2005 and two from 2007, play off McCain's acknowledgment that he knows less about economic matters than other issues. In the last quote, McCain says he might have to rely on his vice president for expertise — and then the spot cuts to a winking Palin. [BEN FELLER]