<p>As of this morning, exactly 1,001,415 had donated. I am one, the first time I ever contributed to a presidential campaign.</p>
<p>Yes we can!</p>
<p>Northstarmom–one of the great things about being part of the campaign is that they match you with new contributors to the campaign and we can exchange messages. I have sent in several small matching contributions and have heard from wonderful people across the country who write the most touching messages–such as the 70 year old woman who hasn’t voted Democratic since 1960, the graduate student who scraped together some precious dollars because she believes so strongly in his candidacy, etc. </p>
<p>This is a new kind of politics, in a way, where we all get excited with each other over the possibilities of Obama’s candidacy and hopefully his presidency, and the shared enthusiasm keeps everyone focused and engaged. My hope and belief is that he will be able to keep us focused in the same way on helping our COUNTRY when he is president!</p>
<p>I usually wait for those dollar-for-dollar match events before calling in to my local NPR station to make my pledge. Who knew some day I would be a matching contributor myself !! Also I was quite flabbergasted to realize that my modest total contribution is already above the average of $105 that Obama gets!</p>
<p>Obama’s campaign is already “publicly financed” in my book.</p>
<p>But, will he be a man of his word and resort to public financing and its inherent limis in the general election as he vowed to do? Or will he be just like Hillary with her changed views on the Michigan and Florida delegates?</p>
<p>NST - although I missed the debate last night (was at The Lion King!), the few commentaries and reports I’ve read about make me wonder if some of Hillary’s attacks (especially the Farrakhan one) led people to react by making a donation toward Obama. I’ve been watching the total board on is website, and it seems as if it spiked quite suddenly after the debate. I thought it was going to be a couple or more days minimum before they reached it. Happy to see it. Now I have to find out when someone is replaying the debate so I can watch it.</p>
<p>Obama never said he would, without qualificaiton, limit himself to public financing. He said, he would “aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election” if he becomes the nominee.
To me, that means he’ll do it if his opponent will. Considering the machinations McCain is going through now to get out of the public financing that he used to secure his loan and get on the ballot in several states, I doubt this is going to be much of an issue.</p>
<p>Public financing=government financing, not over one million individual donors making donations of $100. Wouldn’t advocates of small government prefer the public (as opposed to the government) footing the bill? Government financing also does not deal with 527.</p>
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<p>As usual, straight from the Republican message machine through Fundingfather’s fingers (as he types) to the world. I wonder if thinking ever enters into the process or if it’s always the mindless parroting it appears to be. </p>
<p>If you want to play the partisan game, have you noticed that McCain is in big public finance trouble because he used the possibility of entering the public financing system as security for a private line of credit? By doing so, he effectively entered the public finance system</p>
<p>Here’s the whole story, including the fact that the media has been biased against Obama mis-stating facts and downplaying what McCain did:</p>
<p>[Media</a> Matters - Kondracke falsely claimed Obama would be “violating a promise” by “forgoing public financing … between now and August”](<a href=“http://mediamatters.org/items/200802250001?f=h_latest]Media”>http://mediamatters.org/items/200802250001?f=h_latest)</p>
<p>FF: You’d better refer back to the chip in your head that beams in Republican message machine statements to see what else you should talk about. This claim that Obama is breaking a promise in this regard is ridiculous – and actually seems only intended to distract from the more important truth: the one in trouble with respect to public financing is not Obama, it’s McCain.</p>
<p>So, now can we talk about something of substance now that we’ve dispensed with another canard?</p>
<p>I think one of the reasons why there is a surge of support for Obama from across the political spectrum is because people are hoping his candidacy will move us beyond the kind of useless cr** politics demonstrated by this so-called broken pledge controversy.</p>
<p>Well, now, let’s be fair…I support Obama myself, but I do fault him for giving the impression that he was promising to go to public funding, while leaving a few lawyerly weasel-words in the “promise.” If this is the biggest rap on him though, it’s OK by me.
But I am concerned that a million people have given Obama money. All those people are going to want special favors if he wins!</p>
<p>Yeah Hunt, I expect at least a night in the Lincoln bedroom for my $200! Free USA Today and Continental breakfast would be nice.</p>
<p>That is what is so good about the people giving to Obama. Nobody expects anything back except for a chance to see him win.</p>
<p>Let them all spend absolutely as much as they can - it’s good for the economy! (but make sure the campaign decorations and stuff are made in China)</p>
<p>"So, now can we talk about something of substance now that we’ve dispensed with another canard?</p>
<p>I think one of the reasons why there is a surge of support for Obama from across the political spectrum is because people are hoping his candidacy will move us beyond the kind of useless cr** politics demonstrated by this so-called broken pledge controversy."</p>
<p>Besides the typical dodges, attempts to redirect the question and ad homonyms, you have done nothing to “dispense” with anything. It was pretty clear what Obama meant when he thought that he would have to resort to government funding; now that it appears that he won’t, will he keep his word?</p>
<p>I sure hope not. (that McCain won’t is already clear from his current flipflopping dust-up, and that’s fine with me as well.)</p>
<p>My fear with McCain is that if he becomes President, he WILL do what he says he will do.</p>
<p>“My fear with McCain is that if he becomes President, he WILL do what he says he will do.”</p>
<p>Funny, that’s my biggest fear with Obama.</p>
<p>McCain now leads either Dem. Who’d have thunk it?</p>
<p>[Obama</a> Overtakes Clinton, Tied With McCain, Poll Says - Yahoo! News](<a href=“http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080227/pl_bloomberg/aj20k269dy0]Obama”>http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080227/pl_bloomberg/aj20k269dy0)</p>
<p>The election is going to be close no matter who the nominees are.</p>
<p>National polls don’t mean much because what matters is:</p>
<ol>
<li>Electoral college math.</li>
<li>Turnout.</li>
</ol>
<p>“I support Obama myself, but I do fault him for giving the impression that he was promising to go to public funding, while leaving a few lawyerly weasel-words in the “promise.” If this is the biggest rap on him though, it’s OK by me.”</p>
<p>Same here.</p>
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<p>Actually, in 2007 he checked a box that said he would, without a doubt, receive public financing if he won his primary. As you saw last night he’s clearly backing away from that promise. You quoted what he said last night. Last year, on paper, he said he’d take public financing.</p>
<p>Obama has been consistent- he is not the nominee yet, and won’t be until the convention. Until then he can raise as much money as he wants to. After that, he will accept public financing if he can get assurances from McCain to not use loopholes. </p>
<p>McCain on the other hand, accepted public financing for the <em>primary</em>, used that to get on ballots and to get loans and is now trying to weasel out of the agreement because he has a fundraising disadvantage.</p>