Barack Obama Makes First Donation To His Campaign

WASHINGTON -- In a fundraising email released on Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced that he has made his first donation to his own campaign. The donation was for $5,000 and was done online, an aide told The Huffington Post.

The email announcing the donation, as sent out by the campaign this morning, reads as follows:

Friend --

Yesterday, I made my first donation to support this campaign.

On its own, what I gave won't be enough to surmount the unprecedented fundraising we've seen on the other side, both from our opponent's campaign and from the outside groups and special interests supporting him.

But we have always believed that there's nothing we can't do when we all pitch in. That includes me.

Today, on one of the most important deadlines we've had yet, I'm asking you to do the same:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Deadline-Midnight

Thanks,
Barack

Coming on the last day of the month, Obama's personal donation -- equal to the maximum amount that someone can donate to a presidential campaign -- is meant to encourage other Democrats to open their wallets and either begin or accelerate their own giving. His decision to go online to donate was hardly coincidental; it was meant to underscore the grassroots theme of the campaign.

The size of the donation is symbolic as well. While Obama gave $5,000 to his reelection effort, Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, jointly contributed $150,000 to the Romney Victory Fund in May. Neither of the candidates have said at this point whether they plan to self-fund their campaigns.