Commentary

Obama – The $600 Million Candidate

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is on quite a roll. His campaign raked in $150 million in September – more than doubling August’s $66 million record-breaking haul. Obama’s 2008 election campaign carefully cultivated a vast legion of small donors – and it’s paying off in a huge way. But, Obama is also receiving a large amount of financing from wealthy backers. This raises the question of whether his campaign is truly a grassroots effort, adding some uncertainty as to where his loyalties will fall if he’s elected. I still think he has more to offer than his Republican rival, John McCain, however, his supporters are ignoring the full scope of Obama’s fundraising activities – which may lead to disappointments from an Obama administration, .

The grassroots nature of his operation helped secure victory in the Iowa caucuses, and it’s bankrolling his media blitz in the final weeks before 2008 election. According to the NY Times, the Obama campaign raised more than $600 million so far- an amount that comes very close to all donations collected by both parties from public and private sources in the last presidential election. My God, how much more money does he need? Forget TV commercials, he could fund Broadway plays and Hollywood Blockbuster films with this kind of cash.

An article in the The Washington Times noted that the Obama campaign received donations from 632,000 new supporters, bringing the number of individual donors to 3.1 million. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, told the NY Times that the average contribution was under $100.

But it’s not all modest internet donations from the humble masses filling Obama’s campaign coffers. The Obama Victory Fund, which cashes checks exceeding $30,000 – split with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) – raked in $69 million last month. The NY Times said that Obama was aggressively seeking contributions from high rollers – more than 600 supporters coughed up $25,000 or more to the Obama Victory Fund.

Obama is devoting a lot of time and effort to cultivate the much smaller number of donors who can write the really big checks. But most of the stories I read seem to focus on the growing number of average Joes supporting the Obama campaign. Many Democratic strategists are arguing that this is not only a boon to their party, but that it’s good for the country.

If he is elected president, who do you think will get his attention first? Large donors consider donations to be investments – from which they expect to see a return in the future if their man wins. Many of the well-healed Obama supporters who wrote big checks to his campaign run some of the largest companies in America. They will expect an audience with an Obama administration if he wins. This doesn’t mean that the large contributors will necessarily influence his decisions, but I think they will at least stand a better shot at being heard than someone who wrote a check for $25.

The grassroots strategy embraced by Obama follows in the footsteps Howard Dean’s pioneering 2004 presidential campaign. Many say that Obama’s approach is breathing new life into American democracy. But, it is how Obama behaves and who he listens to once – I should say if – elected that will register a true verdict on whether his campaign was a genuine grassroots effort. Am I way off base worrying about this? If you think I am, please tell me why.

While you’re here, sign up for my feed so you can get some of the best in original political cartoons and commentary.

© 2008 Splendid Marbles.