[Posted By WLS]

I generally live by the proposition that I never assume someone can do something that has never been done before.  

Well, the Obama campaign proved me wrong about their fundraising numbers — nearly tripling what they raised in June and July by raising $150 million in September alone.  There is one critical factor that was mentioned by them in August that I think was the key to this success.

When they were continuing to raise “primary money” in June and July, they noted that they were specifically NOT asking their contributors for general fund money at the same time.  A person can contriubte $2300 to each the primary and general campaign of a candidate.  General fund money must be returned if the candidate doesn’t secure the nomination.

Primary money can be spent by a campaign until the candidate is formally nominated.  The Obama campaign “kept its powder dry” by tapping its donors only for primary money all summer, and waiting until after the convention to go back and hit them again for general campaign funds.  Given the amount they had raised in the primaries, it even half their donors came through in the first month, if was going to be a torrent of funds.

And that appears to be just what has happened.  When they went to the huge fundraising database they had collected over the last two years and asked for general fund contributions, the money poured in.

The consequence of this is: we are rapidly approaching the moment when it will take a candidate $1 billion in fundraising money to win a race for the White House.

— WLS

This blog has obtained another correction from the L.A. Times. The last one I obtained ran on October 4. And I have another one I’m about to put in the pipeline. Maybe I can score a hat trick before the month is over.

On October 10 I wrote a letter to the Readers’ Representative at the Los Angeles Times, in which I complained that the paper had blindly quoted a transcript that had badly botched Sarah Palin’s remarks in an interview with Sean Hannity. I argued that the garbled syntax should have raised red flags with the reporter, who should have watched the segment itself to verify the transcript’s accuracy.

On Friday the paper issued this correction:

Palin and Hannity: An article in the Oct. 9 Section A about the increasingly sharp attacks in the presidential campaign quoted Sarah Palin in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, citing as a source the transcript distributed by the network. What the Republican vice presidential nominee actually said was different. The story quoted her as saying: “And — not only those terrorist activities that Bill Ayers was involved in, but the questions need to be asked, I believe, when did Barack Obama know of these activities? We’ve heard so many confliction stories and flip-flop answers about when he knew the guy, did he realize that he knocked off his political career in the guy’s living room?” Palin actually said: “And — not only those atrocious activities that Bill Ayers was involved in, but the questions need to be asked, I believe, when did Barack Obama know of his activities? We’ve heard so many conflicting stories and flip-flopped answers about when he knew the guy, did he realize that he kicked off his political career in the guy’s living room, first it was yes and then it was no . . . “

They’re getting quicker: it took them only six days to watch the video I had supplied them with and compare it to the transcript. Their last correction took 10 days.

P.S. The next request will relate to the paper’s claim that there is “no recorded basis” for John McCain’s assertion that “Obama launched his political career in the former Weatherman’s [Bill Ayers’] living room.” In fact, a 2005 blog entry, reported in February by Politico, was made by a liberal who was there in the living room. She explicitly said that Ayers and Dorhn had “launched” Obama’s career in their “livingroom.” I’ll be writing the Readers’ Rep about that one today.

P.S. The Politico link has much more documentation of the meeting. I cite the blog entry specifically because it was written by someone who was there, who does not equivocate on the living room function being the “launching” of Obama’s political career.

You might be very, very surprised by whom they endorsed.

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