Obama Stumbles on Fundraising

After losing most contests in the final three months of the primary, Barack Obama's fundraising numbers fell during the same three months.  Numbers released today shows May 2008 was his weakest fundraising month, outperforming John McCain by only one million:

Democrat Barack Obama raised $22 million in May for his presidential campaign, his weakest fundraising month this year, and ended the month with $43 million cash on hand, the campaign reported Friday.

...

The May figures place Obama and McCain on nearly equal footing. McCain raised $21 million in May and reported $31.6 million cash on hand at month's end.

But McCain also benefited from the Republican National Committee, which reported $53.5 million cash on hand to the Democratic national committee's $4 million. The parties are already working with their respective presidential candidates to coordinate their campaigns.

Obama reached a peak in February, where he raised $50 million.  Those numbers dropped to $40 million in March, and $32 million in April.  Between February and May, Jeremiah Wright, the derogatory small-town comments, and several gaffes haunted the campaign.  Meanwhile, John McCain has improved his fundraising numbers since the nomination.  He has spent far less than he raises while remaining in the spotlight, meaning he's been far more efficient with his money.  While Obama's supporters talked about raising $100 million in June, it appears most of their fundraising opportunities passed with the primary.

UPDATE:  A bit premature?