Obama Amassed $745M For Campaign

Campaign Says 4 Million Contributed, But Nonpartisan Group Finds Majority Of Funds Came From Larger Donors

(AP)  Barack Obama, who rewrote the book on presidential fundraising, amassed more than $745 million during his marathon campaign, more than twice the amount obtained by his rival, Republican John McCain.

In his latest finance report, Mr. Obama reported raising $104 million in more than five weeks immediately before and after Election Day. It was his second biggest fundraising period and a fitting coda to a successful presidential bid that shattered fundraising records.

In the end, Mr. Obama still had $30 million left over.

Overall, Mr. Obama exceeded the combined finances of the two major parties' nominees four years ago. George W. Bush and John Kerry pulled in a total of $653 million in the 2004 primary and general election campaigns, including federal public financing money.

Mr. Obama's prowess at attracting money, one of the many characteristics that defined his campaign, could well spell the end of a 30-year experiment in public financing of presidential contests.

After initially vowing to take public funds if McCain did, Mr. Obama became the first presidential candidate since the campaign finance reforms of the 1970s to raise private donations during the general election.

The final numbers underscore how pivotal the two candidates' strategies were for funding their general election campaigns: McCain accepted $84 million in taxpayer money through the public financing system; Mr. Obama gambled that he could raise far more from private money.

The two campaigns spent identical amounts in June, $25.6 million each. But from there the numbers diverged widely in September and October when the Obama financial juggernaut swamped McCain. By the end, the Democrat was outspending his rival four to one. The reports submitted by the campaigns on Thursday covered the period from Oct. 15 to Nov. 24.

McCain relied heavily on the Republican National Committee to help narrow the financial discrepancy. But even with the party resources Mr. Obama had a vast money advantage.

The party committee couldn't escape one of its most awkward moments of the campaign. After spending nearly $150,000 on clothing and accessories for McCain's running mate Sarah Palin in September, the party reported spending more than $23,000 in additional accessories in the latest finance document. The spending ranged from $4,384 at Saks Fifth Ave. to $2,130 at Nieman Marcus to small purchases at Wal-Mart and CVS.

Party spokesman Alex Conant said Thursday that the expenditures listed in the party's October and December reports "were the result of coordinated expenditures at the campaign's direction."

"Accessories have been returned, inventoried, and will be appropriately dispersed to various charities," Conant said.

The RNC reported raising $75 million during the latest reporting period. Overall this year, the party committee raised $322 million. It ended with $13.5 million cash on hand. The Democratic National Committee reported raising $36.5 million in its latest filing, for a total of $186 million for the year. The party had $8.7 million cash on hand, but it also reported owing $5 million on a line of credit.

Mr. Obama's campaign said nearly 4 million donors contributed to his campaign.

But while Mr. Obama has made much of his large number of donors, the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute found that Obama collected about 26 percent of his total haul from people who gave less than $200 - about the same as President George W. Bush did in his 2004 campaign.

And like other campaigns, Mr. Obama's relied for nearly half of its fundraising on big donors, those who gave $1,000 or more, a finding that "should make one think twice before describing small donors as the financial engine of the Obama campaign," the institute reported.

Mr. Obama reported having nearly $30 million in the bank at the end of the reporting period and nearly $600,000 in debts. McCain reported $4 million in the bank, nearly $5 million in debts and $1 million owed to the campaign committee. McCain also filed a report for a compliance fund, used to cover expenses associated with his acceptance of public funds. He reported $25 million left over in that account.

[cheteunice]

The buying of the Presidency!

[downsteamjim]

745 million dollars; like Obama said, that''s a lot of change.

[davewrite1]

Of course, many people contributed less than $200 to Obama''s campaign. If 4 million people gave just $187, he''d have his 750 million. Obviously, with so many large donors, his contributors had only to give small amounts.

The reasons why GWB was easily America''s worst president had to do with his stupidity and criminality -- not to mention that his brand of capitalism (with the help of a host of war mongers, neoconservatives, and masters of the universe, have nearly sunk the American ship.

[notblue]

zoe-2009, you must back up your statement with particulars, why in your opinion will Bush be characterized as the worste president in history? Some historians may differ with your opinion, time will tell, you must realize that political ideology and hard fact are two different things. Just because you hate him baesd on ideology doesn''t mean history will villify him. If Iraq turns out to be a succes and the middle east stabalizes because of this fledgling democracy then he may turn out to be one of the best. At this point it''s all speculation.

[ioweign]

IOWEGIAN, name one thing, other than investigate their political rivals, the Dems have accomplished the last eight years. Not including voting for the Iraq war.

Posted by notblue at 04:41 PM : Dec 05, 2008


Democratic Accomplishments in a Republican-Controlled Senate

November 24, 2003

Despite Republican control of the Senate, Democrats have continued the fight to make a difference for all our families. Highlights of Democratic measures that passed the Senate in the 108th Congress include:

* increased combat pay and other support for the National Guard and Reserves;

* full concurrent receipt of disability compensation and retirement pension for all disabled veterans;

* tax fairness for military and foreign service personnel;

* disapproval of the Federal Communications Commission decision to relax media ownership rules;

* a fair extension of the child tax credit; and

* a moratorium on Bush Administration plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.


Let''s not forget the New GI Bill...

[notblue]

IOWEGIAN, name one thing, other than investigate their political rivals, the Dems have accomplished the last eight years. Not including voting for the Iraq war.

[ioweign]

So...
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Posted by IOWEIGN

See, this is how blind followers think. Anything and everything is okay just as long as the leader of their cult wins.
Obama-man said to everyone (even his blind followers) that he would use public funds if McCain would. McCain did. So then, the messiah simply did the exact opposite of what he said. Most rational people would classify that as lying. A blind follower will say, "so?".

Posted by fahr451 at 04:36 PM : Dec 05, 2008

Gee...if Cheney can use "So!" as an answer - I can too...

[ioweign]

zoe, were there any Dems in congress for the last 8 years? Guess not! At least from your perspective.

Posted by notblue at 04:03 PM : Dec 05, 2008


Evidently not enough to override any Republican filibuster or vetoes.

How many vetoes were there from 01.20.01 to 01.20.07 ??

[ioweign]

Mr. President-Erect,

I want my free stuff on Jan 20! Will you be driving the delivery truck with my freebies? I will be waiting as I have made room in my garage for the free stuff you promised. I will toss you a beer if I see you. I pray to you every night as I%u2019ve kicked Jesus from my life and replaced him with YOU! I will leave my mortgage bill in the garage and 2, 5 gallon gas drums for you to fill every week. Thank you in advance for ending all wars, fixing the environment, saving the economy and curing all diseases. Thanks for my something for nothing messiah Obama!!
Yours Truly,
A Democrat For Life
Joe Dunce


Posted by TheMajority1 at 03:37 PM : Dec 05, 2008




I bet your address is on "Wall St."...

[ioweign]

Obama Amassed $745M For Campaign


#####


So...