Obamania - $40 Million?
Published by BG on Thursday, June 07, 2007 at 8:30 AM.Obama's quests for 'eye-popping' cash - Politico.com
Two major Clinton donors, speaking on the condition their names not be used, said they thought it likely that Obama would raise more than Clinton this quarter. Others close to Clinton claim Obama could top $40 million, which could be an example of artful expectation-setting.
An Obama aide responded: "First of all, their estimate is hysterical. We would be thrilled to get to $20 million, but we're mostly focused on increasing the strength of our grass-roots fundraising."
I believe that last part, and I have a great deal of admiration for the Obama campaign's efforts to connect with their donors. In the interest of full disclosure, I gave the guy some cash back in February, and have been on his mailing and call list* ever since.
*That being said, I treat my home phone number like a dedicated spam email account. I turned the ringer off sometime in March so I'm not bothered by the organizations I've chosen to give money to when they call me for more. Cutting off that avenue of communication means I don't generally feel badgered by fundraisers. Even though they all send me emails, those emails usually have a little worthwhile content inside, and I can choose to ignore the blatant come-ons for cash.
What is Obama doing that I admire? Check this out (from a campaign email sent Tuesday):
Most political fundraisers are hosted by lobbyists and filled with representatives of special interests.
But our campaign is different.
Our funding comes from a movement of Americans giving whatever they can afford, even $5, and Barack wants to sit down with supporters like you.
You were there before the beginning, and you helped spark something new in American politics. Renew your support now and you could potentially meet Barack in person.
In the next week, four donors will be selected for a new kind of fundraising dinner. If you make a donation in any amount between now and 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, June 13, you could join Barack and three other supporters for an intimate dinner for five.
That's kind of nifty, isn't it? Obama's campaign has largely been designed around making the grass-roots feel like they're the ones who have a stake in his success, not the so-called "special interests" (even though there's not a presidential contender who hasn't already taken money from "special interests"), and things like this help pique the curiosity and excitement, as well as the bottom line.
I mean, I'm going back to the well to toss him a few more bucks. Would I want to miss the chance to be entered in a lottery to have dinner with a candidate? Hell, I'd throw Duncan Hunter $5 if he were running the same contest.
Obama's not going to hit $40M in donations this quarter, but he's still setting the bar awfully high at the grass-roots level. I'm impressed at the both the strategy behind Obama's efforts, and really pleased by how effective this strategy seems to be. I wouldn't be at all shocked to see these efforts become the benchmark for all future (early) presidential campaigns.
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