Obama Tops Clinton In Jan. Fundraising

Both Dems Still Remain Ahead Other Presidential Candidates In FEC Filings

(AP)  Counting her debts, including $5 million she lent her campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ended January with about $1.5 million while Democratic presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama sat comfortably atop a sum more than 10 times bigger.

Obama's campaign said Wednesday he was approaching 1 million unique donors, a fundraising base that already is expanding the $138 million he raised during his one-year quest for the presidency.

Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns spent at a rate of $1 million a day - $28.5 million for the month by Clinton and $30.5 million for Obama. But Federal Election Commission reports filed Wednesday show how desperate Clinton's financial situation looked going into the all-important Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests.

Her infusion of cash on Jan. 28 helped her buy advertising in key Super Tuesday battlegrounds and jump-started an online fundraising effort that generated $15 million during the first two weeks of February, according to campaign aides. Obama appeared to be at least maintaining his January fundraising pace.

Obama's whopping income makes him the top fundraiser ever in a contested primary.

He raised $36 million for the month, $4 million more than his campaign had initially stated. Of that, about $900,000 could be used only in a general election. Clinton raised nearly $14 million in January, including about $1 million for the general.

Overall, the two remain financially head and shoulders above the rest of the Republican and Democratic presidential fields. Obama has raised an extraordinary $138 million in his yearlong quest. Clinton has raised $121 million. But Obama holds an even bigger edge because $131 million of his money could be used for the primary, whereas Clinton could only use about $100 million.

Among Republicans, Sen. John McCain's revitalized campaign spent $10.5 million just ahead of Mitt Romney, who spent $10. 4 million.

Romney, who dropped out after Super Tuesday, lent himself $7 million in January, bringing his total personal investment in his failed campaign to more than $42 million, according to his FEC report.

The former venture capitalist and Massachusetts governor ended the month with $8.8 million in the bank, more than $3 million of which must be returned because it was for the general election only.

Romney stayed in the race until after the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests. He withdrew and later endorsed McCain, who is now assured the nomination.

Overall, Romney spent $98 million since the beginning of his campaign a year ago, including more than $10 million in January alone.

Rudy Giuliani spent nearly $7 million in January on his failed Florida-based presidential strategy, but ended the month and his campaign with nearly $9 million in the bank, most of it for the general election.

Giuliani must return the $6 million he collected for the general campaign. Anything left over after he pays debts and other obligations could be given to charity or the Republican Party, or used to seed a political action committee. He would be prohibited form turning the money to his own use.

The former New York mayor, who once sat atop national polls as the favorite Republican presidential candidate, raised only $3 million in January, a sign that his campaign was losing steam even as he tried to assure donors and voters that Florida would propel him to a string of victories.

Republican Mike Huckabee, who remains in the race despite McCain's status as the nominee-in-waiting, reported raising about $4 million in January and spending nearly $5 million. Huckabee stunned the Republican field by winning the Iowa caucuses. He then lost a series of other January contests before winning in several Southern states on Super Tuesday.

Huckabee, who has run his campaign on a meager budget, had nearly $1 million cash on hand at the end of January and a debt of $54,000.

McCain, who filed his FEC report late Monday, raised nearly $12 million in January, helped by victories in New Hampshire and South Carolina that solidified his place as the leading candidate for the GOP presidential nomination.

McCain reported $5.2 million cash on hand at the start of February and $5.5 million in debts, including a loan of nearly $4 million.

[pacific_c]

Odd that the "will of the people" includes Independents and Republicans voting in the Democratic primary. Once nominated the Republicans will have a field day with the liberal Senator from Illinois. Republicans are really smart and they will win a presidential election they are supposed to lose.

IS THIS THE CHANGE YOU WANT?

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/the_obama_delusion.html

[samthetvcat]

commonsence1, given their relative fundraising draws it would seem it''s Barack''s contributors that have all the money not McCain''s. And Barack isn''t even accepting money from corporate lobbyists the way McCain is.

McSkeevyEthics might want to take a look at Hillary''s experiences if he thinks his ''experience'' will make him ''inevitable''

[samthetvcat]

Everybody please keep donating to Barack if you haven''t already! Hillary''s new campaign staffer Harold Ickes has set up a ''swiftboat'' 527 to solicit $10million worth of $100k donations, and Barack''s at a disadvantage because he doesn''t want to go the corporate sell-out route.

We small donors collectively can make a big difference!

www.barackobama.com

[skobesquire]

What exactly has Barack Obama accomplished in his career as a legislator? What has he done that makes him qualified to lead the United States? Can anyone name anything concrete? Frankly, I don''t see it. What I do see is another case of an eminently qualified woman being passed over for a promotion by an unqualified and younger male. I''ve seen it happen to many women in my long career. And here it is again. What a pity. And the U.S. will suffer for it. Lord knows our enemies are all poised and ready to take advantage of this inexperienced young Barack Obama, if he gets elected. We going to need much more than slick oratory to handle the crises the U.S. will inevitably face. Obama will be a disaster for us.

[remco82]

Hillary''s cleaning out gumball machines in the dead of night to keep her campaign afloat. Next she''ll start selling her vital organs to science one by one.

[taotxzen]

UN FRIGIN BELIEVABLE

Police concerned about order to stop screening

By JACK DOUGLAS Jr.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS -- Security details at Barack Obama''s rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.

Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department''s homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena''s vacant seats before Obama came on.

"Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."

The Secret Service did not return a call from the Star-Telegram seeking comment.

[hawksprings]

"Hillary''''s cleaning out gumball machines in the dead of night to keep her campaign afloat. Next she''''ll start selling her vital organs to science one by one."
Posted by remco82

To bad she doesn''t have a heart she can sell.
And the value of her brain as the World''s Smartest Woman is going down by the day
But she still has lots of gall she can sell.

[rowdytexan2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d91jxghTnE

Hahahahah! Obama''s experience, go watch it...this is hilarious!

[flreason]

"What exactly has Barack Obama accomplished in his career as a legislator? What has he done that makes him qualified to lead the United States?"
Posted by skobesquire

What exactly had Lincoln accomplished before he became President? What did he do that made him qualified to lead the United States? Obama may not turn out to be a Lincoln, but he''s smart, he is able to rally people with his rhetoric, and he knows how to work with the opposing party to create a consensus. He just may be smart enough to take pages from the book of another Illinois politician...at least we can hope. That''s a commodity that''s necessary for the health of our democracy, but seems in short supply outside his campaign.

[jack3213]

CLINTONS FACE FRAUD TRIAL- SEE ARTICLE ( copy and paste in one line)

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/in
dex.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56868

[jack3213]

ATLEAST THE MCCAIN''''S CAN BE CONSIDERED PATRIOTIC IN THE FULLEST SENSE OF THE WORD, ATLEAST THEY SALUTE THE FLAG WITH HANDS OVER THEIR HEARTS- AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PROUD OF THE USA.