The $9 Million Question

As the results of the Pennsylvania primary start trickling in tonight, keep an eye on how often the commentators bring up Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) $9 million spent on television advertising in the Keystone State. As Chuck Todd reported this morning on MSNBC’s First Read, Obama will have some explaining to do if the $9 million doesn’t close the gap on Clinton, who only spent about $3 million on TV.

Of course, Obama’s TV spending spree won’t matter if he ends up closing the gap at the end of the night. But if things look ugly for Obama early on, which they might because, as Todd also notes, Philadelphia’s results may come in slowly, the constant reminder of Obama’s $9 million could make a bad loss for him look even worse.