Obama Aides Ecstatic Over $52 Million Haul

There is a sense of elation in the Obama campaign as it was announced that their candidate raised $52 million in June. It's a massive haul for the presumptive Democratic nominee -- $3 million short of the historic mark he hit earlier in the cycle but much larger than the $22 million that John McCain brought in this past month.

The majority of donations, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in an email to supporters, were of the small variety, with the average amount being $68.

An aide to the Senator was ecstatic when asked about the June numbers and said of an earlier Wall Street Journal report that Obama had raised "only" around $30 million: the paper is "embarrassed."

Greg Sargent at Talking Points Memo noted that the June haul puts Obama on track to achieve his goal of raising $300 million during the entirety of the general election - a total needed to match the likely loot of McCain and the RNC. And yet, Obama and his allies at the DNC still lag behind their counterparts. The Democrat has $72 million on hand, compared to the roughly $100 million brought in by the GOP.

"We remain at a massive disadvantage to our opponents," Plouffe wrote in an email before asking for additional $25 donations. "As I mentioned in my video message earlier in the week, the McCain Campaign and the Republican National Committee finished June with nearly $100 million in the bank.

We can't stop now. It's going to take everything we've got to defeat John McCain and his allies in November."

UPDATE: The DNC follows suit and releases its fundraising figures. They're not quite Obama-esque, but they are fairly impressive for an organization that has been criticized over its lack of cash. Overall, in June, the DNC brought in more than $22 million and has more than $20 million on hand.

This means that, combined, Obama and the DNC have $92 million to spend at this point in time -- $3 million less than GOP.

Comments

[SaviourMachine]

Lets do some math shall we..

$52 million / O
-$22 million /Mc
_______________

$30 million

O raised $30 million more than McLastinClass.

$30 million!

What's that sound I hear?..Fiz­zt..crack.­.pizzt..sn­ap..tro//z short circuiting.

[Bluejay00234]

LMAO.

[Beninn]

Nixon was intelligent. What did that get you?

Do you like O's equivocations since becoming the presumptive nominee? Do you like his expansion of faith-based programs using taxpayer money? Do you like how he "intends to start removing combat troops (not private contractors' troops) from Iraq (fine print: depending on conditions at the time)", rather than "I WILL remove ALL U.S. military and government personnel from Iraq"? Do you like that he's backtracked on NAFTA (it's now nifty)? Do you like his vote on FISA (a complete and total reversal of his position before he became the presumptive nominee)? Do you like his Republican stance on teachers? And his newly expressed plan to "refine" (add) more restrictions on access to a woman's right to choose?

WHAT ARE YOU BUYING WHEN YOU BUY O's NEW BRAND????????

[dentuso]

I'm sensing a teensy weensy bit of frustration and panic from Benign.

I feel for ya. (no I don't)

[k6007]

Bushbaby is stu pid, what did THAT get us?
As far as I am concerned, you're wasting your time......­........Ca­rry on:)

[HumeSkeptic]

Given the alternative,this is a no brainer. 0bama is clearly better than McCaone. At this point, that's all that matters.

[Beninn]

No, that's not all that matters.

This is the only time in the electoral process where the people have any power at all. At elections, holding candidates to answer. Every day more comes out of O's mouth showing us that he's more Republican than Democrat. He's been using weasel words which have led us to believe that he's more liberal than he actually is. We have inferred meanings that he doesn't mean! Now is the only time to get it straight with him and to get commitments from him.

Throughout history, we have enabled our own doom, by voters behaving as they are now, like on this thread, irrational exuberance. We saw this most obviously in 2000 and 2004, and in the days leading up to the war in Iraq, from Republican trolls. Where their frantic efforts to quell questions overwhelmed all calm discussion and debate.

Is that really what you want again? To be sitting around after 1/20/09, with a President O who sees caving on Democratic values (as he did on FISA) as a good "compromise" position, signing off on agreements with Republicans and our corporately-bought Democrats in Congress? Keep in mind that in races where there are good progressive Democratic candidates running, O is backing the BLUE DOG DEMOCRATS!

If not now (holding O's feet to the fire), WHEN?

[williamg]

Has Obama hurt himself with his base? Gallup has the answer:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama's support among political liberals has not declined in recent weeks, and shows evidence of a modest uptick. Currently, 82% of self-identified liberals (including 92% of liberals who identify themselves as Democrats) say they would vote for Obama rather than John McCain if the election were held today. His support from both groups is the highest to date in Gallup Poll Daily tracking.

Along with the $52 million raised last month, it's safe to say that he has lost ZERO support.

Beninn?

[gladys46]

Weep willow!! America gets the chance to recover!

[SaviourMachine]

Lets do some math shall we..

$52 million/ O
-$22 million/ Mc
__________­__________

O raised $30 million more than McLastinClass.

$30 million!

What's that sound I hear?...Fi­zzt..crack­..pizzt..s­nap..tro//­z short circuiting.

[oneeyedodin]

this blog is so poorly run that Repubicans must be in charge of programming.

[NickNas]

I just sent a letter to the Huffo about just that. Not so much the rupub thing but the Professional abusers of Blogs like the tiny organed "Meanguy" and his type that has nothing to say but insult people all day but they still are posted here. This has become a venting spot for the mental midget set. Debate is good and we will NEVER all agree on things but there is an element that gets off disrupting adult coversation and debate in order to enjoy their hobby of trying to be important. Send your letter as well so we can get the Mods help in controlling the Trolls.

[Ammobob]

Geez, how much does the Presidency cost? It's good to know even government offices have a price. Now, if the same concept applies to local school boards and commissioner offices...­....oh, it does.....

[donaldw6]

So, you're working to get rid of all the graft and corruption in the GOP, right?

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Poor littlebullet. Feeling the need to display his ignorance and irrelevance yet again.

[SweetSydney]

Hey, when did you start smoking again?

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=66170&rendTypeId=4

[dentuso]

The GOP has raised more money than O. The GOP money comes form PAC's and Lobby Groups, where O's money comes from Americans.

You seem to be more comfortable with the notion that corporations and special interests having more power over who the next President is.

And that's pretty damned sad, to be honest.

[williamg]

The real question is: how much does it cost to fix the economic disaster the Republicans have brought on the country.

[buckygreen]

You'll have to do better than that boob. BJ is here so if you're angling for stupidest tr00LL on site you've got your work cut out for you.

[SweetSydney]

For all practical purposes, this campaign is over as soon as O returns from Iraq.

It was such a rookie mistake, allowing himself to be goaded into the trip by McCain like that.

Without his rigid adherence to his "withdrawal timeline" he loses his only reason for gaining the nomination. Without a "refined" policy, he loses the Independents, Moderates, and Rea-gan Dems.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

[dentuso]

Nostradumbass strikes again.

There are celebrations and honor welcomes in every country where O is visiting, giving America it's good reputation as a moral authority once again. The anchors for all three major networks are covering every one of them. He's going with a highly-respected Republican. He's coming back to a nomination in front of 75,000.

For all practical purposes, this campaign is over. You're right.

And here's why I laugh at you. Did you know that 65% of the sub-40 voters in this country are Democrats? Do you understand what this means? An election loss keeps Republicans out of the White House for a much as twenty freakin' years! Yes. 20 years... no Republicans. And what did you guys arm yourselves with? One of the guys in the private box at the Muppet Show.

[gladys46]

Well we won't be as "careless" getting out as we were getting in .... you remember O saying that ..yes you do!

Rigidity belongs to Bu$h, Inc., and his transmigrate JM ... didn't they regidly take us there!?

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

You mean the other rookie mistakes that Boosh and or McBush have adopted.

-Attacking Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
-Negotiating with Iran after all the bluster.
-Sending more troops to Afghanistan.

McBush is the one acting like a rooking thinking Sunnis are Shiites.

[Charles1Goodwin]

ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­Z. Are you saying something? ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZ

[SCG]

Preview of the RepubiCon National Convention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je8KBhT970Q YouTube 51sec.

[dgscol]

The financial houses have contributed sizably to all campaigns. Why do the candidates needs all this money? They never had a need before. I think they have expanded the people paid within their campaign and have raised salaries substantially - take for example the hire of a body man/woman at 100K. Some people may be making enough money campaigning they never work at doing anything else.

Interest groups are placing their lobbyists into people's campaigns as a way of influencing the evolution of the campaign. All this money takes the importance of the candidate away from the race.

[k6007]

Why do the candidates need all this money?

There is NO relevant free press in this country anymore. Anytime you want the truth to go out to the public, you have to pay BIG money for it.
It is a tragedy. We need to reinstate the fairness doctrine, and put debates back in the hands of the public.

[williamg]

Has Obama hurt himself with his base? Gallup has the answer:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama's support among political liberals has not declined in recent weeks, and shows evidence of a modest uptick. Currently, 82% of self-identified liberals (including 92% of liberals who identify themselves as Democrats) say they would vote for Obama rather than John McCain if the election were held today. His support from both groups is the highest to date in Gallup Poll Daily tracking.

Along with the $52 million raised last month, it's safe to say that he has lost ZERO support.

Beninn?

[Beninn]

Polls are only as good as the question asked, and for the exact moment it's asked. Five months out from a general election, when 80% of the voters are not tuned in to the election (FACT), and when the poll's question is extremely limited, it's not worth the time it is taking for me to explain this to you.

The polling doesn't answer your question, williamg ("Has O hurt himself with his base"). "His base" can be hurt and would still vote for O rather than M c C ain. But does that mean "his base" won't vote for other candidates running, on other tickets? (N ader, B Bar r ?).

If it were an accurate representation of liberal voters, then one of three things would be true. Either 82% of "self-identified liberals" are:

1) Masochists, self-destructive, aren't committed to their own self-interests,

2) Voting out of a sense of futility, hoping O is not who he's professing now to be (conservative), and this is a HUGE problem for all Democrats, if true, because these are the voters most likely to stay home on election day,

3) Include those 80% of voters who are not paying close attention yet to the day-to-day events of the campaigns, and don't know that O has backtracked on most issues that Democratic voters consider core values of theirs.

[Gma11]

Wonderful, wonderful news!

[realtalk]

Obama is going to need every cent of it to buy T.V. ads, and RADIO and, and FLYERS, to make sure he can counter the lies that the Republicans are already putting out there. The lies that John McCain has already been running in his Republican ads.

This money is to a also pay to rent hundreds of campaign offices scattered all over the country, in every state. It is from these offices that campaign workers will call voters and inform them of Obama's policies, and encouraging then to get out and vote.

All this stuff cost alot of money, and that is where the money is being spent, and inorder to make sure that Obama can put out radio, and T.V. ads, and print flyers, and keep campaign offices open, they need donations.

The Republicans are NOT going to let go of the White House easily, they will do anything to keep it for 4 years, so Democrats must make sure that with RADIO, and T.V ads, and flyers, Obama will be able to debunk the lies and that will require money to pay the RADIO stations, the T.V. stations, the FLYER PRINTERS.

Whatever small amount we can afford to give is needed, because the Republicans will NOT leave the White House without a fight, and to fight the lies, and the smears will require money to pay for ads on radio stations, and T.V stations.

[ebanks84]

WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU MAM!

Anymore queries regarding finances?

[ExRepublican]

"Anymore queries regarding finances?"

Yes. A lot more.

Who gives the most money to Mr O?

Is most of it coming from the small guy?

How does O compare with Kerry do re: small donations?

Bottom line, exactly who is giving money to Mr O

"O knows a bad seed when he sees one."

I'm not so sure about that, mr pom pommer.

In other words the Constitution is a bad seed? Cuz Mr O sure did sheet on it.

[williamg]

"I'm a lifelong Republican - a supply-side conservative. I worked in the Reagan White House. I was the chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for five years. In 1994, I helped write the Republican Contract with America. I served on Bob Dole's presidential campaign team and was chief economist for Jack Kemp's Empower America. This November, I'm voting for Barack Obama.

When I first made this decision, many colleagues were shocked. How could I support a candidate with a domestic policy platform that's antithetical to almost everything I believe in?

The answer is simple: Unjustified war and unconstitutional abridgment of individual rights vs. ill-conceived tax and economic policies - this is the difference between venial and mortal sins. Taxes, economic policy and health care reform matter, of course. But how we extract ourselves from the bloody boondoggle in Iraq, how we avoid getting into a war with Iran and how we preserve our individual rights while dealing with real foreign threats - these are of greater importance,"

- Larry Hunter, New York Daily News.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Good reference do you have a link.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Found the link HuffPo should put it on the front page, because many conservatives think the same way.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Many real conservatives hate what the neocons have done to this country. And McBush is more of a neocon than Boosh.

[Ides]

MSNBC is still reporting that Obama can't raise money. They really need to start doing some actual reporting.

[unscum]

The Republicans are absolutely corrupt and pathetically devious. They cry foul over Obama's exit from the public financing system for the general election, yet combined with the Republican National Committee
(controlled by PAC and Lobbiest money) their candidates has 100 million to blow on negative campaigning till November. Never trust the Republicans, they will lie, steal and cheat to win this election.