NEW YORK (AFP) — White House front runner Barack Obama is to make a 30-minute primetime television pitch to the nation Wednesday in an extraordinary climax to his presidential campaign media blitz.
The Democratic candidate, running steadily ahead of Republican John McCain in the polls a week before election day, will air the unusually long advertisement on three of the four national networks: CBS, NBC and Fox.
The slots at 8:00 pm on the east coast and 7:00 pm in the central zone, right before the hotly anticipated next game of baseball's World Series on Fox, could not be more choice.
At Fox's request Major League Baseball has even agreed to delay the start of the game -- which could decide the seven-game series -- to fit in Obama.
The Obama campaign was tight-lipped Tuesday about the contents of the commercials, the first of that length to feature in a presidential campaign since billionaire Ross Perot's independent candidacy in 1992.
But the multi-million-dollar barrage highlights Obama's massive war chest and the ruthless way he is using that money to blast his opponent out of the media arena.
"The discussion about this election begins and ends with Obama's fundraising ability," said Evan Tracey, head of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which analyzes campaign advertising.
Tracey calculated that the primetime splurge cost about five million dollars, while the USA Today daily estimated the bill at about three million dollars.
Obama has raised record sums from private donors and total spending on campaign advertising is forecast by some to reach 250 million dollars.
That would dwarf not just McCain's spending, but that in any previous election, and, on an annualized basis, even the advertising budgets of retail giants like Burger King, Apple and Gap.
Because he accepted public campaign funding, McCain is limited to spending 84 million dollars, although that sum is substantially increased when taking into account other Republican funding.
Obama turned down public spending, gambling correctly that he could raise far more on his own.
As a result, he'll end up spending about 100 million dollars more than McCain on advertising, Tracey said, a mismatch allowing Obama "to be in multiple places with a multiple presence" and "drown out" the Republican.
On Wednesday, Obama will be doing just that -- not only blocking half an hour of national television, but appearing afterwards on the popular late-night comedy programme, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Running out of money and time, McCain on Tuesday had no ready response to Obama's latest assault, other than a wry promise not to interfere with baseball games.
"No one will delay the World Series with an infomercial when I'm president," he told thousands of supporters at a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Whether the public will actually sit through Obama's 30-minute specials is unclear, even in an election stirring up so much fervor.
However, the pre-baseball slot was typical of Obama's attempt to reach out to young males, Tracey said.
"It makes them appear more in touch with younger voters... and creates the perception that they understand what people in their 20s like."
Certainly one young American was underwhelmed: Obama's 10-year-old daughter Malia.
"She says, You're going to be on all the TV? Are you going to interrupt my TV?'" Obama's wife Michelle recalled during an appearance on NBC late Monday.
Obama put his daughter's fears to rest, telling her that among the few channels he hadn't gobbled up were children's favorites Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
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