Obama strategist David Axelrod said on Thursday he was concerned about super-PACs and outside groups outspending the campaign.
"We have a problem in that because new changes in the law that the Supreme Court ruling, Citizens United, opened up, there's unlimited spending among these third party groups, these super-PACs against the president," said Axelrod on CBS's weekly online
program "Face to Face."
Axelrod said that although the campaign itself has been able to raise a lot of small donations, it is facing an onslaught of outside spending and negative ads.
"Despite all the fundraising we've been able to do, largely at the grassroots and small donations, we're contending with these big forces, and so yes, I'm concerned about money," said Axelrod.
When pressed on whether Democrats we're less enthusiastic than four years ago, Axelrod contended that direct fundraising has kept pace or eclipsed the 2008 race, but outside spending makes the race a "very challenging fight."
Then-candidate Obama had a large fundraising advantage during the 2008 contest against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), but June of this year was the second straight month that GOP challenger Mitt Romney outraised the president.
Romney and the Republican National Committee raised $106.1 million for June, while Obama and Democratic National Committee pulled in $71 million.
Earlier this week the president appeared in a campaign video documenting his own donation to the reelection effort, in which he urged supporters to make contributions now rather than wait until the fall.
"We depend on $5, $10, $25 donations. You know we don't get some of the massive checks that the other side does, but we have this incredible grassroots network," Obama said in the video.
Axelrod told CBS that the campaign was running ads during daytime television programming to reach a "preponderance of undecided voters," which he said tend to be more women than men. However, he added that the campaign is "not leaving any stone unturned" in terms of running commercials.
"Part of not having resources to match resources on the other side is we have to be smart about how we spend our money," he said.
Axelrod's remarks on the campaign's finances come at 7:00 minute mark in the video.
