Clinton, Obama Release Fundraising Appeals

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are out with video-based fundraising appeals today. Clinton's appeal directly acknowledges the fact that she now needs contributions to retire the $22.5 million in debt from her campaign, while Obama's shows the nominee speaking to campaign staff shortly after becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"By helping us pay off our campaign debt, you're not just helping Hillary elect a Democratic president and grow our majority in Congress," reads the text on the page where Clinton's fundraising appeal appears. "You're making it possible for her to work as hard as she can on the issues we care about." Below the words is a "contribute" button.

"We still have so much to do together," Clinton says in the video. "We've made history. Let's make some more."

Watch it here.

Obama's video, apparently shot on a hand-held camera, shows the candidate on June 6th in Chicago. Below is a form to fill out to donate to the campaign.

"We don't have an option now," Obama says. "When we were at the beginning of this thing, in Iowa – if I'd lost Iowa, it would have been OK. One of the other Democrats would have emerged, and they would have carried the banner, and we would have joined their campaign, and we would have moved forward."

"But because we won, we now have no choice," he adds. "...We don't have a choice because now, if we screw this up, all those people that I've met, who really need help, they're not going to get help."

Click here to watch it.

UPDATE: John McCain has a new fundraising appeal as well. His involves not a video but a contest: "Join John McCain aboard the Straight Talk Express! Be the lucky supporter to ride with John McCain on the Straight Talk Express on an upcoming bus tour. Everyone who donates between now and June 30th is eligible."