Barack Obama: "McCain Used Bush To Raise ... $3.5 million ... While Ebracing An Unpopular President And Taking Advantage Of Well-heeled Republicans."

Here's the email:

Right now you have a unique opportunity to go head-to-head with George W. Bush.

This week, John McCain and George Bush gathered behind closed doors, away from the cameras, to raise money for McCain's campaign.

McCain used Bush to raise a reported $3.5 million from a group of about 500 Republican contributors.

That's a lot of money that will undoubtedly be used to attack us and make the case to continue George Bush's failed policies.

But I have an idea about how we can match it. And we don't need George Bush.

...

As the presumptive nominee of his party, John McCain has had a three-month head start to build his campaign. In that time, he's made his fundraising strategy clear.

In the words of one reporter, the gala fundraiser with Bush was "part of McCain's delicate effort to find the balance between embracing an unpopular president and taking advantage of his huge continuing draw with well-heeled Republicans."

We'll see more of this dance in the weeks and months ahead, but we already know the steps.

As we prepare to take on John McCain, now is our first chance to show that a grassroots movement of people giving only what they can afford can go toe-to-toe with the Bush-McCain fundraising machine.

And with the last three contests of the Democratic primary coming up in the next five days, the resources we're building right now are an urgent necessity.

Help build our movement by making a matching donation today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/promise

John McCain can run from the cameras, but he can't hide from the fact that he's aiming to continue George Bush's policies for a disastrous third term.

Let's show that we're ready to take him on.

Thank you,

Barack