a couple of things come to mind, the first of which is that The BarackStar! will have to come off the campaign
trail to do fund raising events since he didn't accept public financing. time off the campaign trail is time not spent
pushing your message. and the obama campaign may want to keep up the appearance and the perception that he
is financed by little guys over the internet, but it isn't true. he will need fat cats, and he will need to play up to the
base to shake money loose from them. the problem with that is that the sort of things that you have to say to whip
up the base (pull out of iraq NOW without conditions! investigate the bushco crimes against humanity, repeal the
bush tax cuts now, outlaw the SUV, abortion on demand without condition, & etc., & etc.) literally scare the shit
out of swing voters.
he can't let his donations drop. his campaign apparatus' expense budget, and ultimately the size and scope of his
campaign, were based on revenue projections that may not be sustainable in the general election. at least not
without having to make a bunch of claims to his corporate donors that would drive away the swing voter that will
probably decide this election in the first place.
foregoing public financing is turning out to be a double edged sword, and expecting it to continue to rain money
on them in droves could turn out to be a big mistake as well.
Forgoing Subsidy, Obama Team Presses Donors
After months of record-breaking fund-raising, a new sense of urgency in Senator Barack Obama’s fund-raising team is palpable as the full weight of the campaign’s decision to bypass public financing for the general election is suddenly upon it.
Pushing a fund-raiser later this month, a finance staff member sent a sharply worded note last week to Illinois members of its national finance committee, calling their recent efforts “extremely anemic.â€
At a convention-week meeting in Denver of the campaign’s top fund-raisers, buttons with the image of a money tree were distributed to those who had already contributed the maximum $2,300 to the general election, a subtle reminder to those who had failed to ante up.
The signs of concern have become evident in recent weeks as early fund-raising totals have suggested that Mr. Obama’s decision to bypass public financing may not necessarily afford him the commanding financing advantage over Senator John McCain that many had originally predicted.
Presidential candidates in a general election have typically relied on two main sources of money: public financing, along with additional money their parties raise. In choosing to accept the public money, the McCain campaign now gets an $84 million cash infusion from the United States Treasury. Mr. McCain is barred from raising any more money for his own campaign coffers but can lean on money raised by the Republican National Committee, which has continued to exceed expectations.
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