Maybe Romney Doesn't Have a Money Advantage

Perhaps Romney's financial strength is not living up to its billing.  Josh Kraushaar writes at National Journal:

Despite all the well-deserved hype about Romney’s superior monthly fundraising tallies throughout the summer, the campaign and its allies are being outspent down the home stretch in many of the key battlegrounds. A Hotline ad tracking analysis showed that last week, Team Obama outspent Team Romney in Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin – and in several of those states by significant margins. This isn’t an anomaly.

The New York Times reports today that Romney and his allies aren’t able to spend some of the money they raised, given that a significant chunk is earmarked for the Republican National Committee and state parties. More of President Obama’s donations went directly to his campaign account, giving him more flexibility on when and how he can spend the money. This comes after news that Obama’s campaign significantly outspent Team Romney on the airwaves during both party conventions, when many politically-attuned voters were watching. The campaign ended up taking out a $20 million loan because most of their remaining funds were strictly earmarked for the general election.