From our Housekeeping desk
Saturday’s Boston Globe featured a sharp front-page piece on the presidential campaigns’ stepped-up digital efforts this time around:
Spending on online advertising could exceed $160 million during the 2012 election cycle, up from the $22 million spent four years ago, according to forecasts by Borrell Associates. Most of that — about $100 million — will be spent on presidential campaign, Borrell predicts. The Obama campaign has spent about $24 million on online advertising, according to reports released in June by the Federal Election Commission. But that doesn’t include money for consultants and salaries for digital campaign staffers. The Romney campaign has spent $1.7 million for online ads and $5.6 million for consulting on digital projects.
Of course, that’s lunch money compared to what the overall campaign spending will be, largely devoted to traditional TV spots:
For now, television will continue to play a huge role, with about $6.5 billion expected to be spent on ads for all campaigns. That’s two-thirds of the $9.8 billion in expected political spending, according to Borrell.
Just so you splendid readers understand all our posts headlined “Let The $4 Billion [Original Estimate] . . . Or $6 Billion [Revised To $6.5] . . . Or $9.8 Billion [High Estimate] Rumpus Begin!”
Not to get technical about it.
Campaign Outsider 
You’re beginning to sound, like, well…a curmudgeon.
Look at it this way, John, it’s the only true jobs initiative the country has seen in a since the last election.
High praise coming from you, Mudge.