Obama Raises Half as Much Cash In June As Projected
July 17th, 2008 at 05:42pm Matt Margolis
Last month it was projected that Barack Obama would raise $100 million.
Well, he raised more like half of that
Yet, curiously enough, Obama’s campaign is misleading potential donors by misrepresenting the combined fundraising numbers of McCain and GOP vs. the Obama camp and the DNC.
This morning, the Obama campaign fired off an emotionally-tinged fundraising email to their supporters. The urgent message stated:
“The Obama campaign and the DNC ended June with a combined total of nearly $72 million in the bank. It’s a healthy number. But McCain and the RNC together still have a huge cash advantage, and we need your help to close the gap.
As I mentioned in my video message to you earlier in the week, we’re facing a Republican machine with unprecedented resources at its disposal. The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee finished June with nearly $100 million in the bank.”
(Emphasis theirs).
… But in an under-stated blog post, Politico’s Ben Smith informs us that the Obama campaign’s math was off by $20 million:
“In total, the Democrats have some $92 million on hand, to the combined Republican total of $95 million.”
(The Obama email said they only had $72 million — now we find out they have $92 million).
First the Obama campaign operates their own Orwellian Ministry of Truth, now they’re trying to tell us that 2 + 2 = 5.
But, why would Obama want to mislead his supporters like that?
Of course, the cynical observation is that Obama’s campaign wanted to fire-up their supporters by pretending as if they were losing the money game to the GOP. Remember, Hillary’s donors didn’t come to her rescue until they knew she really needed it (when she invested $5 million of her own money.) The point is that political donors are more likely to become emotionally involved if they believe they are needed — and that their candidate is in danger of being beaten — so there was an incentive for Obama to play-up the disparity.
But a less sinister — and more charitable — analysis is that their math was off by $20 million. Of couse, this would be a gross error for such a polished political operation to commit.
But, par for the course for someone like Barack Obama.
UPDATE, by Mark Noonan: And while $52 million might seem a hefty sum, it doesn’t work too well when you burned through $42 million at the same time…and you’ve eschewed public financing, which means that you’re money has to last all the way to November. Obama is said to be getting together 2,000 paid staffers…five times what President Bush had in 2004…the guy must already think that he’s President.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats
13 Comments
1. liberalDream | July 17th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
you of course fail to point out that this is twice as much as McCain collected. Speaking of dishonesty perhaps you should consider your own words before accusing the rest of the world. Its ok though - you know you will lose big now so cry as much as you want…
2. Big Blue | July 17th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Seriously. $100 million in June was not the campaign’s projection. A few of the bundlers — who are not representatives of the campaign — expressed that they thought it was possible Obama could have a $100 million month now that the primaries were over. He may still hit such a mark, but trying to discount $52 million in a month (on donations averaging just $68), when that is well more than twice what McCain raised makes you look ridiculous.
3. neocon | July 17th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Wouldn’t the amount of fundraising by Obama belie the liberal assertion that the average American is financially wiped out?
just asking
merci beaucoup
neocon
4. Some Assembly Required | July 17th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Hilarious, Obama camp states they will raise $100 million. The camp only Raises S52 million. Yet another Obama flip flop! OH THE HUMANITY! Keep it up, soon you may even get Neocon to shake his head. Ok, maybe thats a bit of a stretch, but come on neocon even you have to admit this is a bit ridiculous.
As for your post, the average joe american will donate to someone who they think will turn the country around and look out for their interests instead of the corporations. So, it’s really not surprising they’re willing to donate their last penny to his campaign. McCain’s donations can be summed up via lobbyists. Obama’s, the people. I ask you, whose running a campaign that truly speaks for the people?
5. Charles Merlo, Jr. | July 17th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I believe Obama is raising the amounts he is claiming. I do not believe he can raise these amounts legally. I believe there are major funds coming from sources Obama would like to hide. Why is there not a deafening demand to reveal all his sources of funds???!!!!!!!
6. neocon | July 17th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
SAR,
I could not care less about the money, that alone has never won anybody anything. And if you think people would donate their last penny to a poitical candidate, you’re further out of touch than I give you credit for. 99% of the population would NEVER give their last penny to a political candidate.
It’s the votes that count, and McCain will come out on top come November. That’s the only thing that matters.
7. The New Conservative | July 17th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Money, doesn’t win elections. McCain and Huckabee had less money than anyone in the GOP primary and they finished 1-2 in that race. There are a long list of people that have put millions of dollars of their own money into a campaign only be defeated. Ideas will win this election and McCain has better ideas.
http://www.thenewconservatives.blogspot.com/
8. Big Blue | July 17th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
McCain has the same ideas as Bush. C’mon, the American people aren’t that gullible. He can talk his “straight-talk” all he wants, but on the economy, energy, the environment, and Iraq, he stands right with Bush. Those aren’t better ideas, nor are they popular ideas.
I also like how Bush and McCain have both cribbed from Obama’s playbook in the last week. Bush is sending people to talk to Iran, and McCain is saying we need to put more troops into Afghanistan (a point Obama’s been making for a year). The only difference with McCain’s position is that he has no real way to get more troops into Afghanistan other than plead with NATO to send them.
9. Jay Gaultieri | July 17th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
The article cited states ONE bundler saying $100 million was within reach in June. In June Obama raised more than twice as much as McCain, and the response here by the ten or so grumpy old men who regularly post here was that money doesn’t matter, even though it did just a few paragraphs above.
10. js | July 17th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
the difference between raising cash and stealing it is that to raise cash…you only need the truth….
11. Mark Noonan | July 18th, 2008 at 1:35 am
SAR,
But we do, in the end, have more money than Obama and his Democrats….McCain, you see, isn’t raising so much for himself because he can only spend it until the end of August…what Obama’s got is close to what Obama will have from now till November…meanwhile, the RNC will head in to the fall with at least $60 million on hand along with McCain’s $84 million. We’re probably going to get outspent (just as we were in 2004), but it won’t be the fundraising blowout you Democrats were expecting just a month ago.
12. Some Assembly Required | July 18th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Mark,
If you look at Obama’s fundraising records thus far there is a clear pattern emerging. Every month he seems to surpass the record he set the month before. Now, if you think by some force of magic that is just going to stop at the end of august you really are delusional. This year, Obama will outspend you by almost 2 to 1 I’m guessing. He will out campaign you from the grass roots level. This is evidenced by many things, but this thread has to be an example of the state of desperation you are in. Your brand of politics mixed with appointing incompetent people to high government positions is over. Obama will win, simple as that. The American populous is smarter then you give it credit for. Get over it and work with the country to get out of these times of crisis.
P.S. It’s really gotta hurt that the average donor for Obama is $100. What’s 52 million divided by $100?
13. neocon | July 18th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I always am amused that no matter what the change in conditions bring on any front; economy, war, energy, the Democrats always tout that they were proponents of that.
Big Blue proves this in post #8. Condi spoke to this one time high level meeting with Iran yesterday, and it is not what the uninformed liberal perceive it to be, yet they take credit.
And now that we defeated AQ in Iraq, it is time to go kick their ass again in Afganistan, which again, would not have been the case a year ago as BRObama proposed, and his lap dog big blue asserted.
They are good for comic relief though.