Patterico's Pontifications

9/14/2008

Obama’s Fundraising Disaster Now Official — $66 Million Raised in August, but only $77 Million Cash On Hand To Start Sept.

Filed under: 2008 Election — WLS @ 10:42 am



[Posted by WLS]

Official numbers haven’t been released yet, but a campaign official gave these numbers to Ben Smith at Politico.

McCain started August with the $84 million given to him in public financing, and about $120 million in the RNC — their final numbers aren’t out yet either. That’s $200 million, with the RNC hoping to raise another $100 million over the next 60 days.

Obama, after raising $103 million in June and July, took in another $66 million in August. So he has raised nearly $170 million, but has only $77 million left to start the general campaign. I’ve seen suggestions in print that the Denver extravaganza pretty much spent every penny the DNC had, and there are no reports about how much money they had starting Sept. 1.

But the reality on the ground is that for Obama/DNC to match the GOP in spending over the next 52 days, he’ll need to raise $110 million in BOTH September and October.

Not a chance in hell.

— WLS

83 Responses to “Obama’s Fundraising Disaster Now Official — $66 Million Raised in August, but only $77 Million Cash On Hand To Start Sept.”

  1. None of the MSM stories on Obama’s fund raising ever even mention the high burn rate they’ve been maintaining all summer.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  2. Which is a good thing for us. If the press insists all is hunky dory in the Obama campaign (and at this point they have to) his supporters will not wake up to the horrible news until it id far to late.

    Have Blue (974cdf)

  3. So you’re bragging about buying the election WLS?

    The GOP needs all that money to keep the electorate confused with mis-information (to put it politely).

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  4. Psyberian, that’s a pretty silly comment given that Obama was the one who reneged on a commitment and refused public financing under the delusion.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  5. You can’t even discern the simple difference between changing one’s mind and out-right lies SPQR?

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  6. Here is how AP reports it:
    “Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign announced Sunday that it raised $66 million in August, marking another record fundraising month for the Democrat. The August total tops the $55 million Obama raised last February during the primary campaign.

    He reached the $66 million mark with help from more than a half million new donors.”

    To paraphrase King Pyrrhus, “Two more “record” months like this and we’re done for”.

    Catbert077 (dde515)

  7. Psyberian, evidently while so busy convincing yourself, you can’t read english. I did not use the word “lie” nor any variation of it.

    Your comment is getting sillier. Your only response to the point is to bang your drum louder so you can’t hear.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  8. psyberin,

    The One thus spake “I will aggressively…preserve a publicly financed general election”

    Exact words!

    The exact words of a Liar…

    mjn1957 (6e1275)

  9. Meanwhile, it is the Obama campaign putting out the misinformation. Including really stupid moves like making fun of McCain’s inability to type.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  10. So, Obama’s burning through money like water? (my favorite mixed metaphor)

    Wow, wonder how he’ll manage the budget when he’s President?

    Techie (84f4ca)

  11. What about McSame having to return “$50,000 in unusual contributions from a single extended family, the Abdullahs”? What’s that about? And just imagine the furor if Obama had to return money from the “Abdullahs”!

    So where is the money (he gets to keep) coming from? Oh, Johnny has the favor of the oil execs! How sweet:

    Ten senior Hess Corporation executives and/or members of the Hess family each gave $28,500 to the joint RNC-McCain fundraising committee, just days after McCain reversed himself to favor offshore drilling, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

    Oh yeah, making kissy-face with big oil has worked just fine for us so far, so let’s keep that up.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  12. SPQR, it is one thing to say “I’m going to” do something and alter the decision later and another to blatantly lie saying “I am and have been against earmarks” (paraphrasing) when she knows damn well she’s taken millions in earmarks. Nope, huge difference there friend.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  13. “So you’re bragging about buying the election WLS?”

    How are we buying?

    You’re the ones who are spending the most money – it’s not our fault if it isn’t doing anything for you.

    Anon (03ab2e)

  14. Wow, wonder how he’ll manage the budget when he’s President?

    Heh. With that same extensive executive experience gleaned from running a campaign.

    Dog? Meet tail.

    tree hugging sister (700823)

  15. Sorry SPQ – my last coment should have been directed at mjn1957.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  16. Psy…

    So you are now reduced to elementary-school name-calling, huh?

    As to your points…no one can control who donates through open-to-all donation mechanisms, it is what you do with that donation that matters.

    It looks like Senator McCain has done the honorable thing and returned questionable donations. I can’t seem to recall Obama doing anything similar from all those illegal foreign donations he has obviously received.

    …and…are you arguing that Senator McCain was ‘bought’ for the paltry sum of $28.5K? How ridiculous!

    mjn1957 (6e1275)

  17. Psyberian, you stated the McCain campaign uses their money to spread lies about Obama. Name on lie. Have they lied about Obama’s relationship with Wright, Ayers, Rezko, the Annanberg Challenge, his experience as a state Senator, or his Saul Alinski connection? Just what is it about this shill for the weather underground you like?

    Zelsdorf Ragshaft III (620731)

  18. Obama sets the single-month record for contributions and adds 500,000 new donors to the rolls and it’s a disaster? Donations are trending upward and the campaign’s in trouble? I’m not seeing it — especially if the McCain campaign and RNC continue to throw money at lipsticked pigs.

    SEK (072055)

  19. Just what is it about this shill for the weather underground you like?

    Because, as we all know, associating with Bill Ayers is clear evidence of sharing the opinions he held thirty years back. Handing Ayers $50 million, however . . .

    SEK (072055)

  20. Psyberian, you are so wedded to the “Obama is not a liar” theme that you use it where it is not appropriate. You introduced it before anyone called Obama a liar.

    It was your claim that the GOP was buying the election, but you come up with that lame “look over there” defense of the fact that it was Obama who decided long ago that he could “buy” the election with unrestrained fund raising.

    You are quite hilarious with the clumsiness of your defenses.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  21. I don’t see any problems with Obama’s ability to collect money, but its use and effectiveness.

    The man spent well over $100 million during the summer, a good deal more than McCain – and for what? Where did it get him?

    He can collect all the money he wants; if this $77 million is as effective as the last $77 million – then what good is it?

    Anon (03ab2e)

  22. Thank you Zel, I was hoping someone would ask about McCain & Palin’s long list of lies.

    For a candidate who prides himself in “straight talk” — and whose political image in part is based on that truth-telling reputation — Saturday proved to be a brutal day for John McCain and his campaign.
    First came a front-page New York Times piece noting that McCain “has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats, independent groups and even some Republicans for regularly stretching the truth.” There was also an accompanying fact-check of McCain’s latest TV ad, which called it the “latest in a number that resort to a dubious disregard for the facts.”
    The Washington Post gave “four Pinnochios” to McCain’s recent assertion on “The View” that Palin never took earmarks as Alaska governor. Then the Boston Globe reported that Palin didn’t really travel inside Iraq as has been claimed. And Bloomberg News said that the McCain camp may not have been exactly truthful in estimating the size of its recent crowds. “Now officials say they can’t substantiate the figures McCain’s aides are claiming.”

    To top it off, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said this to the Politico about the increased media scrutiny of the campaign’s factual claims: “We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.”

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  23. Psyberian, since you like liars, how about some more Rick Ellersberg links?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  24. Oh yeah, making kissy-face with big oil has worked just fine for us so far, so let’s keep that up.

    Comment by Psyberian

    I assume you ride a horse to work. Who do you think will find and provide oil to keep our country running ? Chavez ? The Saudis, who Chuck Schumer was begging to increase production while he voted for the drilling ban ?

    The Democrats have no plan for the biggest issue the economy faces. They don’t even know what they don’t know.

    Sarah will teach them.

    Mike K (c6345c)

  25. The good news just keeps getting better. Congratulations, WLS, you were ahead of the curve on this a long time ago.

    nk (d681ef)

  26. SPQR, it was WLS bragging about all the repub money that I was responding to. Also, unfortunately you have to fight fire with fire. ‘You expect uni-lateral disarmament? Dream on, friend.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  27. Yeah Mike K, you republicans are doing a fantastic job of providing oil for us at $4.00 a gallon. Way to go.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  28. First came a front-page New York Times[Big Surprise] piece noting that McCain “has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats [who woulda thunk it?], independent groups [like ACORN?] and even some Republicans [Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan?] for regularly stretching the truth.”

    To top it off, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said this to the Politico about the increased media scrutiny of the campaign’s factual claims: “We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.”

    Damn straight! Go peddle your papers, Obama-tankers.

    nk (d681ef)

  29. Psyberian, you were not responding to WLS. You were trying to distract from WLS’ post with an irrelevancy and a falsehood. Which is typical of the Obama campaign – the stupid, clumsy falsehoods that is. Like claiming that McCain is too stupid to use email when in fact he physically can’t due to his injuries.

    Brilliant use of all that campaign funds by Obama. Just pathetic by you.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  30. Newsflash: In a bold move to raise cash, the Obama campaign will now sell naming rights to his campaign.

    Thanks to large corporate contributions, Obama will now henceforth head “The Microsoft Intel Invesco Obama Presidential Campaign for Hope and Change.”

    😉

    MarkJ (7fa185)

  31. 27 correctomundo- those dastardly rethuglicans are fecking over the dem controlled congress for the past two years, preventing pelosi and reid from their strong efforts to lower energy prices. We know offshore drilling, opening up of anwr, new oil refineries and nuke plants would do very little to provide much in way of energy independence and besides even barry o. agrees that we need to emulate the eurotwats and have higher gasoline and prices because they would reduce demand and carbon emissions. I’m sure we could get plenty of energy from all the gas emitting from the pompous liberal gasbags such as algore. Oh, that’s right, natural gas is not a fossil fuel according to dipwad Pelosi?

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  32. I should also mention in connection with republican admin. oily relations:

    Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties engaged in illicit sex with employees of energy companies they were dealing with and received numerous gifts from them, federal investigators said Wednesday.
    The alleged transgressions involve 13 Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington. Their alleged improprieties include rigging contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants, and having sexual relationships with — and accepting golf and ski trips and dinners from — oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department’s inspector general.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  33. “Then the Boston Globe reported that Palin didn’t really travel inside Iraq as has been claimed.”

    Psysberian – Who made the travel claim to which they are referring? It’s one reason the campaign doesn’t get upset about the Obama spokespeople in the media say in their paid reporting roles.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  34. Psyberian, which of those Interior Dept employees were Republicans?

    Oh, you don’t know? So we’ll just mark that down as another lie on your part. Given your high standards.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  35. The best part of the whole thing is that Barack Trinity-Is-Still-My-Name Obama gave himself a black eye [Racist!] with real independents by being the first and only candidate to refuse public financing and spending limits. Snicker.

    nk (d681ef)

  36. “I should also mention in connection with republican admin. oily relations:”

    Pstberian – What conclusion do you draw from that report?

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  37. SPQR, the Dept. of the Interior is Bush’s. No one else’s, but his administration. No lie.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  38. So, psby…

    A Republican governmental agency investigates and finds improper/illegal activities in another governmental department…

    Good, put them all in jail…fine them the max…

    And we thank you for bringing that to our attention…

    reff (4ab894)

  39. Psyberian, another weasel response from you. You attempt to connect the corruption of Interior department employees to Republicans, but you have no idea how many are Republicans, how many are political appointees versus civil service positions. But if your point is that all of the actions of all of employees show the character of Republicans, a dubious proposition at best given the rather obvious logical fallacy, you don’t note that it was the same Dept of Interior’s inspector general who discovered the corruption.

    Basically, your attempts are as incompetent as Obama’s. And almost as dishonest.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  40. max – Has Pelosi even unveiled that plan for energy independence and lower prices she promised at the beginning of 2007? I don’t recall seeing it, but she’s had time to write a book. What the hell is she doing with her time except jetting back and forth cross country at taxpayer expense while energy prices keep rising?

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  41. daleyrocks, Pelosi says that natural gas will get us off of fossil fuel …

    ROFL.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  42. Psyberian – You know JAR, jharp and Datadave don’t you? They’ve already cut and pasted the same trash you have to this blog. I don’t know whether that means you all get your talking points from the same place and some are more prompt at doing your duty, or whether some of you are just more dumb than the others.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  43. SPQR, if the tables were turned, you’d be spitting blood mad about it. You get the golden hack award.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  44. Psyberian, now you are calling me a hack based on your invention of what I would say, if the tables were reversed.

    Calling me names based on your own fabrications?

    That makes you as dishonest as we’ve long known.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  45. Pysberian – I wasn’t impressed by the talking points the first time I heard them. They haven’t gotten any better the third or fourth time.

    What do the latest polls say about the percentage of people who believe that the media is trying to help Obama win this election? Isn’t it around 60%? Everything they say needs to be double checked genius, something you idiots obviously don’t bother to do as long as it fits your meme.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  46. Has SiliconDoc returned?

    At least that character had fresh material!

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  47. Notice the string of non-sequiturs that Psyberian trots out — he never once engages the material, and his list of “lies” by McCain doesn’t contain any, just talking points and platitudes. Sound familiar? Of course, that describes Obama’s entire campaign: endless sloganeering and speechification.

    You guys are losing the election — the one you were supposed to win by a landslide. Way to go Democrats!

    Richard Romano (b96fd9)

  48. Exactly, Richard. And Psyberian’s practice of calling people names based on his own fabrications of what they have said matches Obama perfectly too.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  49. #27 – Pissberian

    you republicans are doing a fantastic job of providing oil for us at $4.00 a gallon. Way to go.

    Current price of crude oil: $2.41 per gallon
    Current price of refined gasoline: $3.35 per gallon

    Do try to keep up.

    Icy Truth (8349ff)

  50. Um, I’m not sure you can call raising $66 million a “fundraising disaster”? If he raises another $18 mil. +$1 between now and Nov. 4th, Obama is ahead of where he would be had he not opted out of public financing. Possibly some of that fundraising could have been redirected to the DNC (or somesuch), but it certainly wouldn’t have been at the same levels.

    And that’s really what all the speculation and calculating should come down to – had Obama taken public financing, how much additional monies would the DNC (et al) have raised + the $84 mil. in public dollars. With Obama’s consistent $50+ mil/month, I would suggest he is ahead of where he would be had he stayed with public finance. He took a political hit for switching his position, but he also gained a half million new donor files in August alone – the value of which should not be dismissed for future fundraising, volunteering, GOTV, etc.

    Conflating how much the RNC has raised with Obama’s own fundraising is meaningless in these terms. The RNC were always going to raise what the RNC were going to raise. Does McCain/RNC enjoy a financial advantage over Obama/DNC? Absolutely; but they were always going to enjoy that advantage. Has Obama’s finance decision lessened the advantage McCain/RNC was going to have? I would say yes. You can disagree, but you would have to show me an argument that Obama/DNC would have been better off with public financing.

    So, if you’re just stating (crowing? 😉 that the Republicans have more money than the Democrats; I’d ask what else is new? As for how they are choosing to spend the money, thats a whole other issue – it’s not like they can take it with them. (I have more thoughts on the spending, I might lay out in a later post)

    Bob Loblaw (6d485c)

  51. WLS,

    I think I would do well to take you to the track with me. You have the numbers thing down cold.

    voiceofreason2 (780010)

  52. It boils down to this: Bambi does not keep his word.

    He said he’d go with public financing. That statement is clearer than the “Bush doctrine” (public financing means going the route that McCain is doing, also because he’s keeping his word).

    Bambi instead broke his word to go after private financing.

    That’s a man who can’t be trusted.

    steve miller (e13d01)

  53. Siberian, I asked you for a list of lies put forth by the McCain campaign. Lies related to Barrack Hussein Obama. If anything, the McCain campaign has so far been very respectful of the losers on the other side. The lies spewing from the maw of things like Bill Burton of Obama fame are really shocking. Just today he stated and compared Obama’s promises of his envisioned change (freedom to socialism, financial redistribution) as opposed to what McCain has failed to accomplish in all his years in congress. I’ll wager McCain did more in his first 6 months as a senator then Obama has in his 145 days.

    Zelsdorf Ragshaft III (620731)

  54. The price of gas:

    The latest nationwide survey by AAA conducted Friday showed that prices were up nearly 6 cents a gallon to $3.733.

    For me, it was 3$.99 a gallon yesterday around the corner Icy.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  55. As usual, it’s not always how much you have, but how you spend it. Given how the respective campaigns are faring at present, coupled with the monstrous largesse that Obama’s camp had until recently – you’d have to say that Obama’s people haven’t done a good job at managing their resources. Kerry had a similar monetary advantage over Bush, and promptly squandered it away over the final months of that campaign.

    Why do I even care about this? Because Obama has repeatedly pointed to his management of his Pres. campaign as a signpost to his executive and leadership abilities. Once again, another terrible example for him to keep mentioning.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  56. “For me, it was 3$.99 a gallon yesterday around the corner Icy.”

    Ah, so that settles it, then! Funniest post yet today – please keep beclowning yourself on the laws of supply and demand.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  57. 40 Daleyrocks- I sure Nancy Pelosi has a sound plan based on alternative fuels, using more ethanol, hydrogen fuel cells, non-fossil fuel liquid natural gas, solar power, wind power, geothermal and whatever other marginally possible method she can think up. Easiest would be to just use battery-power and lower the need for gasoline vehicles. Oh, I’m sure batteries can be charged without using other fuels to generate electricity, eh? I recall reading that a Hummer may well have a lower carbon footprint than those hybrids using the fancy nickel batteries, with said nickel being mined in China and very polluting and energy intensive to produce?
    But the reason she wants to drag things out until after King Obumbler is in office is because she thinks the voters will blame the GOP and the evil/cretinous BusHitler for high fuel prices and the nasty ass high employment rate- even if it is lower than under Clinton. I get a kick how the media constantly wails about the disintegrating economy even if we never actually go into a recession. You see those car insurance ads by the dude who played assassinated President Plamer in 24. He says “even if we are not in a recession it SURE FEELS like it.” More subjective libreal spinning without actual facts as usual.
    Did Nancy get that fancy big gas guzzling jet to haul her entourage back and forth from Calif. to DC?

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  58. Psyberian —

    The latest nationwide survey by AAA conducted Friday showed that prices were up nearly 6 cents a gallon to $3.733. For me, it was [$3.99] a gallon yesterday around the corner Icy.

    — Maybe you should move . . . or realize that wages are probably higher where you live.

    Icy Truth (8349ff)

  59. Yeah Mike K, you republicans are doing a fantastic job of providing oil for us at $4.00 a gallon. Way to go.

    Comment by Psyberian

    It would help if the drilling bans were ended. That will happen in the next few weeks. McCain has been wrong on his position about drilling but he is learning. One reason a lot of Republicans were lukewarm to him was this adoption of positions that many of us thought were more appropriate for someone like…

    You.

    He’s learning. You’re not.

    Who is blocking use of the oil shale n Colorado ? Hint- He’s not a Republican.

    Although, from your postings, I can’t figure out what you would do to solve the problem.

    I guess you want your cars to run on wind. You do provide plenty of that.

    Mike K (c6345c)

  60. Methane, Mike – that’s the future.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  61. Dmac, never write “Methane Mike” … you’ll regret it.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  62. The Washington Times has up-to-date figures for both camps: here

    They basically say that the RNC starts September with about the same cash on hand as Obama/DNC – $94 million (after McCain transfers his last $18 mil. in private funds to the RNC). This gives McCain an $84 mil. advantage at this point, which will likely get whittled away depending on how the Obama/DNC fundraising matches up with the RNC’s fundraising from Sept. 1 onwards.

    You may wish to revise your post somewhat based on this and what I see as either bad math or a bad assumption on your part that McCain/RNC didn’t spend any money in August? If the RNC does raise the $100 million over the next 60 days they hope, Obama and the DNC will need to jointly raise $92 mil./month to keep pace. They jointly raised $83 mil. in August, so who knows? McCain and the RNC jointly raised $69 mil., so perhaps the RNC might be able to raise more than the $100 mil. figure you provide? Still not quite as dire for the Democrats as you anticipate.

    Bob Loblaw (6d485c)

  63. Mike K, I think Obama’s learning too. He has also done what McCain has; he has softened his position on drilling in certain areas.

    I don’t claim to have a complete solution for the oil crises and anyone who does is either an idiot or a genius.

    Psyberian (9f6817)

  64. Maybe Obama is glad McCain picked Palin, because Palin apparently helped Obama bump his August fundraising to $66M from July’s $55M total. On the other hand, it also helped McCain’s fundraising so it might have been a wash.

    DRJ (7568a2)

  65. I guess you are trying to be nice, DRJ, but given the date that Palin was announced, it is difficult to see how it helped Obama fundraise in August.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  66. You might read Bob Zubrin’s book, for example. My review is here. I have also provided links to my ideas on health reform that I hope McCain will eventually investigate. I’ve been in touch with one of the authors of Grand New Party. My review of that book is here.

    I don’t mind a bit of snark but empty posts with nothing but angry cliches are not helpful. Be part of the solution or get out of the way. Obama has not shown that he is part of the solution. McCain-Palin could be.

    I especially like the way she has invigorated him. David Frum has a post today about how reformers can become bitter and frustrated after a while. I think that may have happened to McCain but now he has an ally. And she is tough and cute and funny and young. It’s like a new lease on life for him.

    Mike K (c6345c)

  67. SPQR,

    I think of it as being fair rather than nice, and I’m not sure it ultimately helps Obama. What this means is that Obama would have raised $56M in August – not near enough according to WLS’s analysis – without the boost he got from supporters motivated by the Palin pick.

    If there’s one thing this election cycle (and especially Obama’s campaign) has shown it’s that people give more money when they are excited about a candidate. Maybe Obama supporters will stay motivated, but it seems like the enthusiasm is on the McCain-Palin side and the Obama supporters are responding defensively. I’m not sure how effective playing defense is when you need a lot of fundraising points.

    DRJ (7568a2)

  68. The terms “conservative” and “liberal” say it all.Conservative spending versus spending liberally. The fact that my party has some self control makes me confident in their ability to lead.
    I also believe that there is a ton of “dirt” on Obama that they have been “conserving”. Prepare for massive bombshells to drop late in the campaign when it is too late for the leftist media to spin them. I hope Rezko, a smart but immoral man is paying close attention. Save yourself now Tony because Barry may not be in the oval office to pardon you.

    BrentF (e6db0a)

  69. Tony Rezko is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28th; perfect timing to, at the very least, thrust his name back into the forefront of the news (if they’ll cover it) and shine a negative light on Obama.

    Icy Truth (aea3ff)

  70. Contra WLS, not only is there a chance in hell Obama can raise $110 million over each of the next two months, I’d put the odds at better than 50/50.

    You have to remember that, however popular the Palin pick is in these parts, the nutroots are going apocalyptic and our opening their wallets to stop her.

    But that’s OK, because Obama, unlike McCain, is going to have to campaign heavily for that $220 million. That means, instead of visiting places like Toledo, Cincinatti, Milwauke, Pittsburg, Philladelphia, De Moines, Albequrque, Richmond, Detroit, Lansing, etc. he’s going to have to spend time at black tie affairs in Beverly Hills, San Francisco, New York, and Boston. Not only will he be forced from the center of the election for critical periods of time, he will also be in an ideal environment to utter another stupid “bitter” comment.

    Don’t worry about Obama raising $220 million. He can do it, but it will do more harm than good.

    Sean P (80b8be)

  71. What about McSame having to return “$50,000 in unusual contributions from a single extended family, the Abdullahs”? What’s that about? And just imagine the furor if Obama had to return money from the “Abdullahs”!

    • Obama donated more than $44,000 in Rezko-linked contributions to charity

    • Mr. Obama intended to give away $7,000 that Mr. Hsu contributed to his committees.

    • Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign contends it returned $33,500 in illegal contributions from Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza, but the donors told WND today they have not received any money.

    The Wall Street Journal reported it spoke to Obama officials who said the donations from three Palestinian brothers were received between Sept. 20 and Dec. 6 last year, and virtually all of the money was returned by Dec. 6. The campaign said, however, the refunds were not reported to the Federal Election Commission due to a technical error.

    The Obama camp insisted the remaining $2,500 was refunded Monday and all of the refunds will be reflected soon in an amended report. The campaign said new controls are in place to prevent any similar attempts in the future.

    But WND asked two of the brothers – Monir and Hasam Edwan – to respond to the campaign’s claims.

    “No, we did not receive any money back from the Obama campaign at any time,” said Monir Edwan.

    Last week, the blog Atlas Shrugs outlined the series of donations made last year by Monir Edwan and Hosam Edwan, totaling $29,521.54. A third brother, Osama, reportedly gave the campaign about $4,000.

    Topsecretk9 (9c3e73)

  72. Topsecretk9, that is some fascinating revelation.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  73. Sorry, I don’t like Obama, but I’m not going to trust illegal donors to tell the truth either.

    Soronel Haetir (ce5eda)

  74. Bob Loblaw – The difference is that the $84 million that McCain gets is free and clear. It costs him nothing in fundraising, either money, time, or ethics.
    How much money is being spent by Obama for phone banks, fundraisers, and money events?
    How much of the candidates time is spent schmoozing donors, how much of his staffs time is spent thinking about and working on raising money?
    How many compromises does the candidate make or appear to make to recieve those donations?
    How much of that money was sucked out of DNC or other Dem candidates pockets before it even got there?

    McCain just has money in the bank he can spend free and clear. He does not have to think about fundraising until 2012 for reelection.

    Have Blue (974cdf)

  75. … oil shale n Colorado …

    Estimates run in excess of 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

    We have more reserves of oil than does Saudi Arabia. We have enough reserves of natural gas (yes, Nancy, it is a fossil fuel) for the next 50 plus years. 85% of our reserves are off limits thanks to our own congress.

    We have enough oil in Anwar to completely replace 30 years of the oil we buy from the Saudis. We have trillions of cubic feet of natural gas in Anwar, not to mention all over the country.

    Boone Pickens is right. We need to do everything and we need to start now: solar, wind, CNG, nuclear, and drill, drill, drill.

    “The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. The second best time is today.”

    Harry Arthur (b34c21)

  76. Harry, unfortunately, it’s T Boone Pickens doing the selling of that issue, so Americans with a memory will realize he’s got a scam going, somehow.

    I very much want to see nuclear power, as well as any other resource we need to get to bridge the gap to better tech, but I sure hate to see T Boone Pickens involved. Remember, he basically bought Pelosi, Texas gave him free powerlines, and he wants everyone to take on a fee on their powerbills for him to invest and enrich himself with.

    The problem with energy is NOT a lack of profitability. It’s excess regulation. T Boone Pickens just wants your money instead of investing his own in his own ventures. What’s really holding up progress is laws, not funding. He’s a clever man, indeed.

    Juan (4cdfb7)

  77. Bob Loblaw — I’ll put up a new post once each side posts its FEC filings.

    But whether it’s $95 million or $105 million, the few salient facts are these:

    First, it would still be far more than Obama’s fundraising apparatus has shown it can raise to date, and it requires him to keep an expensive fundraising apparatus in place over the last 60 days when the McCain campaign’s full attention is on winning votes;

    Second, it will take much time and effort away from campaigning in battleground states to raise money in places like NY, LA, SF, and Chicago.

    Third, the Obama campaign will be in direct competition with down-ballot candidates who usually look for help from the top of the ticket in fundraising this time of year. But Obama will have his tin cup out at every campaign stop rather than simply supporting the local candidate and party.

    Four — the task will be significantly harder if Obama remains behind in the polls. A whole class of large donors don’t have strong preferences one way or the other — they’re simply trying to back the winner. If Obama starts to look like a loser, they aren’t going to waste money giving to him – it’ll go to the RNC instead.

    WLS (d2ce3b)

  78. Juan, my point really wasn’t all that much about Boone Pickens, other than, whatever his motivation, his point is spot on. It was primarily that we should decide to go after our own abundant supplies of energy. I totally agree with your point that it is excessive regulation and I would add litigation that stands in our way.

    This is something that can be done safely and environmentally soundly. There is simply no reason to have avoided nuclear power these last three decades. There is also no reason to lock up all this energy and refuse to use it.

    The only converse argument is not compelling: “Well, gee, we wouldn’t have any results for 7 to 10 years.” Bah! Think where we would be now if we had opened these resources 10 or 15 years ago. But that’s history. Let’s start today.

    Harry Arthur (b34c21)

  79. Sorry for the OT comments – not trying to hijack the thread, but the comment on oil shale up thread drove me into “preaching” mode. 🙂

    Harry Arthur (b34c21)

  80. Hi,

    I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

    “Impeach Senator Barack Obama”
    http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/obamaimpeachment?e

    I really think this is an important cause, and I’d like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It’s free and takes less than a minute of your time.

    Thanks!

    http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/obamaimpeachment?e

    WillNotBeFooledByObamaNATION (c62648)

  81. Fair points Have Blue & WLS, but don’t forget the RNC money isn’t going to raise itself either. As the Times article I cited above (@#62) points out, the RNC are counting on McCain & Palin to make fundraising appearances as well. The cost of two fundraising arms for Obama & DNC vs. one for the RNC isn’t helpful either, but they were only shy $9 million in August of the $92 mil/month target.

    That said, I don’t think Obama will be able to match the overall fundraising of McCain & the RNC, but I also don’t think he is going to be as far behind as you might have imagined. I think your point about the relationship of polling to fundraising might be correct as well, so who knows?

    My original point about Obama still being at less of a disadvantage than he would have been had he not opted for private financing, I think still stands.

    Regarding campaign outlays, I was going to point you towards fivethirtyeight.com, but I see from your recent post that you are already familiar with it 😉 Nate Silver has been making the case that Obama has been heavily investing in a ground based game, which is somewhat unprecedented – particularily for a democratic candidate. I recommend checking out his analysis of it if you get a chance (heck even Karl Rove reads & cites 538). Of course none of us will know how this all plays out until election day 🙂

    Bob Loblaw (6d485c)

  82. How do you like the $150 million he raised in Sept? ha ha ha….I think most of those donations were from independents and RNC members who are disgusted with the Palin pick and the nasty hopeless campaign Mc Cain is running.

    R Owens (77d3de)

  83. How great it is! “No Way In Hell!” ummmmm I hope you feel so very dumb right now. Also if you think that Mr. McCain had $200 million all to himself then you should feel even more dumb. Most people who have a clue realize that Bush spent the limit for his campaign at $168 million. Well to close this one be ready in 5 days for the biggest voter turnout ever imagined and the democrats stomping the Rep. in the dirt. How do I know this? Well most all poles choose random phone numbers, correct? How many 18-25 yr. olds have a house phone? Last I checked Obama held a 47 point lead in that demographic. Should be interesting.

    L. C. (b169d8)


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