The reelection campaign of Barack Obama released an anticipated 17-minute documentary made by Hollywood documentary filmmaker David Guggenheim. The short film is voiced by Tom Hanks and features everyone from Rahm Emanuel and Joe Biden to Bill Clinton and president himself. As Sam Stein writes for HuffPost, "The material is, by now, well-traveled terrain, emphasizing the enormity of the problems that President Barack Obama inherited and bookending his first term with the bailout and subsequent recovery of the auto industry.
But there are some twists. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel cops to advising Obama that he should consider spending less time and capital on health care reform. Vice President Joe Biden states his belief that the president would have been limited to one term if the Osama bin Laden raid had failed. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau creator Elizabeth Warren, assessing the pro and cons of the auto bailout, says the president could have had "blood on his hands" had the industry and economy imploded. And then there is the president himself, who sat down with the filmmakers to discuss that bin Laden raid."
Over at The Atlantic Nancy Scola takes a look under the hood of YouTube to make sense of the campaign's decision to make this documentary, "What the Obama campaign is playing with here is the a brand-new version of YouTube. If you're used to getting your YouTube content through videos embedded on websites, it's worth checking out the platform itself. The new YouTube is built around channels, and the Obama campaign has customized the heck out of theirs. Videos lead gracefully to more videos. Content is organized in verticals, along timelines and themes.
...
And where this gets particularly interesting is where you consider the potential of this sort of platform when it's powered by the social data that the web's major social hubs make available. The New York Times'Jeremy Peters hit the highlights. For example, as long as you've logged into Facebook and not logged out, the Facebook platform lets publishers use your social data to customize your experience. Watch a video about voter registration and you could be served up a list of your friends in, say, Pennsylvania who the campaign has judged from the data to likely be unregistered, too. You'll be asked to poke them to go out and register to vote. There's Twitter, too. Next to the Guggenheim video last night, for example, there was a call to tweet post-showing questions to David Axelrod using the hashtag #roadtraveled. That integration is at a rudimentary stage, but it's a fair bet that more is coming."
Rick Santorum is raising money from the secretive Council for National Policy. Meanwhile, Romney blasts Santorum in perhaps the most negative ad his campaign (not the super PAC) has run this cycle.
Is there a better way to show your loved one that you care than to pump money into a super PAC to help them get elected? That's what Jon Huntsman's dad did and now family members of congressional candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi are doing the same, according to iWatch. The group decided to disclose its donors ahead of Tuesday's vote because it felt that the disclosure would not happen in time prior to the election.
Turns out that when you stop talking about your super PAC on your comedy show people stop giving. That's what happened to the Colbert Super PAC, although it does still have more than $700,000 cash on hand to spend in elections (or private jet flights for Stephen).
The Eric Cantor affiliated super PAC Young Guns is backing freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger in his primary race against long-time GOP Rep. Donald Manzullo. The group is expected to drop $50,000 into the race before Tuesday's vote.
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Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "The Road We've Traveled"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: Documentary on the web.
Committee: Mitt Romney for President
Candidate Opposed: Rick Santorum
Spot: "Wrong Choice"
Market: Illinois.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate Opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "Mitt Romney Stands To Profit From Chinese Surveillance"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate Opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "Mitt Romney: Wrong for Women & Illinois"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Newt Gingrich for President
Candidate Opposed: Barack Obama
Spot: "Obama Bows Again"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Revolution PAC
Candidate Opposed: Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum
Candidate Supported: Ron Paul
Spot: "Ball Booth"
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Tim Kaine for Senate
Candidate Opposed: George Allen
Spot: "George Allen Big Spender"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
TRACKING INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
These numbers represent spending by independent groups, like super PACs and non-profits, to support or oppose a particular candidate for the presidency in 2012. Fundrace will update this spending daily to help show which candidates are gaining from the proliferation of independent groups in this coming election.
Newt Gingrich (R), $12,755,102 to support, $18,881,563 to oppose. (+$42,466)
Rick Santorum (R), $7,237,942 to support, $15,962,441 to oppose. (Support: +$333,247, Oppose: +$26,780)
Mitt Romney (R), $2,355,594 to support, $6,428,146 to oppose.
Rick Perry (R), $4,167,697 to support, $1,404 to oppose.
Ron Paul (R), $3,735,676 to support, $214,158 to oppose.
Jon Huntsman (R), $2,453,204 to support, $0 to oppose.
Barack Obama (D), $280,441 to support, $928,780 to oppose. (+$50,000)
Herman Cain (R), $501,717 to support, $954 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.
RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
Red White And Blue Fund, $310,000 to support Rick Santorum for President in Illinois.
Restore Our Future, $26,780 to oppose Rick Santorum for President in Illinois.
League of Conservation Voters, $10,392 to support Jon Tester for Senate in Montana.
Campaign for Primary Accountability, $4,734 to support Deborah Halvorson for Congress in Illinois' 2nd District.
Campaign for Primary Accountability, $1,999 to oppose Jesse Jackson, Jr. for Congress in Illinois' 2nd District.
Campaign for Primary Accountability, $26,844 to oppose Donald Manzullo for Congress in Illinois' 16th District.
Susan B. Anthony List, $21,007 to support Rick Santorum for President.
Susan B. Anthony List, $2,240 to support Rick Santorum for President.
The American Foundations Committee, $58,455 to support George Holding for Congress in North Carolina's 13th District.
Communications Workers of America, $13,999 to oppose Brad Schneider for Congress in Illinois' 10th District.
Winning Freedom, $42,466 to support Newt Gingrich for President in Louisiana.
Life And Liberty PAC, $50,000 to oppose Barack Obama for President.
Club for Growth PAC, $12,740 to support Richard Mourdock for Senate in Indiana.
Club for Growth PAC, $204 to oppose Richard Lugar for Senate in Indiana.
Club for Growth PAC, $10,798 to support Thomas Cotton for Congress in Arkansas' 4th District.
Club for Growth PAC, $12,293 to support Ted Cruz for Senate in Texas.
RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS
Lunch Pail Republicans IE-Only Committee, Lagrange, Ill., Treasurer: James Stange. (Super PAC)
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp USA PAC, Lincoln, Neb., Treasurer: Michael J. Boyle.
Heat of America PAC, Overland Park, Kan., Treasurer: Richard Martin.
Much Better Choices, San Diego, Calif., Treasurer: Mike Thaller.
Send tips, hints, submissions, rumors to HuffPost Fundrace at paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.