I'd like to take this opportunity to personally thank Sarah Palin for single-handedly contributing $70-80 million to Barack Obama's campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America during the month of September. That is my estimate of how much of the $150 million raised by Barack Obama's campaign in September can be directly attributed to Sarah Palin. For clarity, my estimate is based entirely on anecdotal evidence.
The announcement of Governor Palin as John McCain's running mate was revealed on August 29th. On September 3rd, she delivered her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. During the next two weeks, Palin's popularity soared, Obama's poll numbers declined severely, and Democrats across the country literally freaked out. And when they freaked out, they opened their wallets like never before in American political history. Palin's announcement also galvanized Democrats nationwide to take action -- volunteer participation increased dramatically as once-apathetic Democrats transformed themselves into activists and joined other Democrats already actively engaged with the Obama campaign. In mid-September, the dynamic of the Presidential race shifted again as a result of the financial crisis. But Sarah Palin's spark continues to ignite Democrats to both action and financial contribution.
On behalf of all Obama supporters, I say "Thank you Sarah Palin!" Thank you for your generous contribution to the Obama campaign. Thank you for allowing the campaign to play ball in states like West Virginia, North Dakota, Georgia and in all of the battleground states it's been in for months. I thought the maximum contribution to the Obama Victory Fund was $28,500. I'm not sure how you managed to contribute roughly $70-80 million but we sure do 'preciate it! Darn tootin' and you betcha!