FUNDRAISER OBAMA

(By Bob Novak) - Sen. Barack Obama is employing his fundraising prowess to raise money not only for his presidential campaign but also for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, seeking a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Recipients of Obama’s summer mailing include many lobbyists who are called “switch hitters” in political parlance -- contributors to lawmakers of both parties who seek to open Capitol Hill doors to them on a bipartisan basis.

A footnote: While Democrats have a good shot at picking up four more Senate seats to put their majority at 55 to 45, collecting the 60 seats needed to break filibusters without Republican help seems out of reach. “We must have a deadlock-proof Democratic majority,” Obama said in his letter.