Obama far outpaces Clinton in the money race

Clinton had less than $10 million available for the remaining primary battles, including today's vote in Pennsylvania, compared with Obama's $42 million in primary funds.

At the same time, Clinton disclosed $10.3 million in debt, most of it owed to her cadre of political consultants, suggesting that if the campaign were to end now she would be financially underwater. Obama had $662,000 in unpaid bills.

The New York Democrat's debt could be "a glimpse of how it all comes to a close unless she has a shockingly good victory" in today's Pennsylvania primary, said political scientist Bruce Cain, head of the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. "Campaigns end not because candidates make rational decisions about their prospects but rather because others who give resources make that decision for you," Cain said.

In this presidential campaign, the one with the most money has not always won. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, still has not matched the $100-million-plus that also-ran Republican Mitt Romney spent on his failed candidacy.

"The press is covering the race not only every day but every hour of every day," a California Democratic consultant said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he has clients who support both candidates. "That diminishes the value of money."

Clinton strategist Howard Wolfson told reporters Monday that even though Obama had outspent Clinton, "we've been able to obviously get a message out." He estimated that Obama had spent $11.2 million to Clinton's $4.8 million in Pennsylvania.

In March, Clinton raised sums that in any other campaign would be impressive -- $20 million. But Obama amassed $41 million last month.

Clinton partisans said her $10 million in the bank was key; television stations don't sell airtime on credit.

In an indication of the fundraising predicament in which she finds herself, Clinton won primaries in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island on March 4. But in the three days after those victories, Obama far outraised her -- $5 million to $2.8 million, campaign finance reports filed late Sunday showed.