Senator Barack Obama raised $66 million last month, aides said Sunday, the most prolific fund-raising month of his presidential candidacy but still just a baseline for what the Illinois Democrat has to raise every month to meet his campaign’s goals in an exceptionally close and hard-fought race.

After a brief respite from negative campaigning in deference to the damaging passage of Hurricane Ike, both sides resumed fire. Over the weekend, Mr. Obama depicted Senator John McCain as “out of touch” while a McCain surrogate accused Democrats on Sunday of “ageism” in such portrayals of the 72-year-old senator.

Mr. Obama is not taking public financing  the $84 million cash infusion from a government presidential-election fund that Mr. McCain will receive  so his fund-raising burden is considerably higher than his Republican rival’s.

But almost more important than Mr. Obama’s August total may be the fact that it came partly from a half-million first-time donors, most of them far from having contributed the full $2,300 per person allowed in any general election.