Clinton, Obama spend differently

Through the end of January, Obama also appears to have spent $35 million on the all-important category called "media," producing and airing television spots aimed at winning over voters.

Clinton has spent about $27 million on such spots.

"I think the campaign has targeted its resources appropriately," said Wolfson.

On numerous other expenses, Clinton's campaign seems to have outdone Obama's. She spent $7.8 million on charter and commercial airfares, compared with his $6.4 million.

Each campaign has spent heavily on mailings and fundraising. But though Obama holds his share of high-end events, much of the money fueling his campaign has arrived via the Internet.

The overhead of sending mass e-mail appeals for money is minor in relation to the return. But even there, Obama discloses having spent less than Clinton -- $1.2 million on Internet-related costs to $1.57 million by Clinton.

Clinton relies more on large fundraising events, often holding them at the mansions of wealthy donors and collecting the maximum $2,300 from people attending.

The cost of such events is high. Campaigns end up footing the bills for catering -- and she has paid $4 million for event catering to Obama's $2.47 million.

"These people have certain standards," Democratic consultant Garry South said of Clinton's high-end donors. "They want to be known as classy party-givers. They are resistant to trying to cheap it out. All that comes off the top."

Clinton does not directly pay her chief strategist, Mark Penn. But since the campaign began, she has paid almost $8 million to the firm Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates. She has another $2.1 million in unpaid bills to the firm, according to a campaign finance filing earlier this week.

Penn receives payment from the firm and is its president, although he said he had no ownership interest in it. The firm's billings include consulting, polling, direct mail, printing and postage. Obama's campaign subcontracts out its mailings and polling.

Obama has paid $1.2 million to the firm run by his chief strategist, David Axelrod, over the last year. Axelrod collects a percentage of the broadcast and cable ads, but the Obama campaign would not disclose the size of his take.

There are several other differences. Clinton paid her main field organizer $220,000. Obama paid his field organizer $109,000, plus an additional $68,000 to his firm.

Clinton paid $154,000 to Patti Solis Doyle, the campaign manager who left the campaign in a shake-up earlier this month. Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, who oversees spending, is paid $144,000.

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dan.morain@latimes.com

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Where the money went

How Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have spent some of their funds since the campaigns began:

Obama

Flowers, decorations: $23,484

Parking: $41,946

Online advertising: $1.2 million

Printing: $2.3 million

Telemarketing: $5.5 million

Clinton

Interpreters: $7,238

Photography: $116,514

Parking: $183,778

Phone banks: $2.9 million

Printing: $3.4 million

Source: Federal Election Commission