Obama suddenly the cash underdog?

Is Barack Obama the new campaign cash underdog?

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe seemed to say Monday that the Illinois senator — who has raised well over $275 million and smashed just about every political fundraising record over the course of his 18-month bid for the White House — might find himself at a disadvantage against a joint effort by the Republican National Committee and John McCain's presidential campaign that told reporters last week it had nearly $100 million cash-on-hand as of June 30.

In an e-mail to potential donors, Plouffe said the Arizona senator has benefited from a beefed up fundraising effort "by collecting huge checks from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs."

"[McCain's] financial position has improved in the last month. The RNC's cash on hand has risen. So now we face a position where McCain and the RNC have $96 million in the bank," Plouffe said in a Web video posted on the campaign's Web site.

"They are using the RNC money, and they are using the McCain money they were able to raise while we were engaged in the primary to really spend a lot of money out there," he added.

"We have to make sure we are matching that. The only way we cand do that is for you all to continue to help us. We can't count on anybody else. We can't wait for a cavalry out there. The cavalry doesn't exist."

As of the end of May, Obama's campaign reported approximately $43 million cash on hand, of which roughly $10 million were general election funds. The campaign has yet to release its second quarter financial information.

The Democratic National Committee is expected to be of little help to the Obama campaign. On the heels of a strategy imposed by DNC chairman Howard Dean that seeks to beef up organization in all 50 states, the committee finds itself with virtually no money in the bank. As of the end of May, the DNC reported only $4 million cash on hand, $50 million less than the RNC had during the same time period.