The Republican National Committee has formed a new "independent expenditure" group that is set to begin running its first anti-Obama ad in Michigan this weekend. According to various media reports, it will spend an initial $3 million on advertising in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The independent group is being run by On Message, Inc., a consulting firm that produced ads for Dick DeVos's 2006 gubernatorial race in Michigan.

This new group--formed to get around the $19.1 million limit placed on the RNC by Federal Elections Commissions (FEC) regulations--is just one of many independent groups that will be spending considerable money on television advertising in the next few weeks. Additional efforts include:

* The AARP began airing a new ad on national cable Wednesday pressing Obama and McCain to keep talking about financial security for retirees and affordable health care. Beginning Monday, the ad will run in Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; Des Moines, Iowa; Manchester, N.H., and Detroit _ markets in key battleground states. The seniors' advocacy group, acting on behalf of a coalition called Divided We Fail, plans to spend more than $20 million on its bipartisan ad campaign through Labor Day.

* A coalition of labor and liberal organizations next week plans to launch a $40 million campaign in key congressional districts to promote affordable health care coverage for all Americans. The group expects to spend $25 million in commercials in 45 states between now and Election Day in November. Its members include unions such as the Service Employees International Union, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Democratic-leaning organizations such as the Center for American Progress, MoveOn.org, and the Campaign for America's Future.

* The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million to influence the presidential election, starting with a voter registration effort this summer and eventually moving to an ad campaign during the fall. The NRA has not yet endorsed a presidential candidate, but plans to air ads criticizing Obama's past support for restrictions on access to guns. The NRA also has had a tense relationship with Republican John McCain over his work on campaign finance laws that the NRA has opposed, concerned about the limits imposed on free speech.