Dems don’t like trend in Obama Fundraising- Election 2010

President Barack Obama is accelerating his fundraising pace, inviting Democratic candidates to decide whether the money he draws is worth the Republican attacks that a presidential visit might also bring.

For some, it’s no easy choice. Democrats need millions of dollars to defend dozens of House and Senate seats this fall. But Obama’s approval ratings are sinking well below 50 percent in several key states. (See photos of Barack Obama’s first year in the White House.)

Obama is headlining four Democratic fundraisers in three days, including one Tuesday night, and hosting another four events next week. For now he’s playing it safe, holding the eight events in noncompetitive states or in a competitive place where he’s sure to be embraced: his home state of Illinois. (See pictures of Barack Obama’s nation of hope.)

As is true with most presidents, candidates from his party know there’s often a political cost to the hundreds of thousands of dollars a presidential visit can net.