Voting with Dollars
The campaign headquarters of U.S. Senator from Illinois Barack Obama reported his campaign contributions for the 2008 presidential run yesterday, three days later than the other contenders. The results were sensational. In the first three months of the year, Obama collected $25 million, almost catching up to favorite Hillary Clinton, who took in a record $26 million.
"This overwhelming response, in only a few short weeks, shows the hunger for a different kind of politics in this country and a belief at the grass-roots level that Barack Obama can bring out the best in America to solve our problems," stated Penny Pritzker, Obama's finance chairman in a news release.
Obama's success is all the more impressive for the fact that he collected those contributions from 100,000 people, exactly twice the number who gave to Clinton. The presence of a large number of small donors is considered a fortuitous sign in U.S. politics. Besides indicating broad support, U.S. law allows donors' second donations to be larger than their first. Obama collected $6.9 million over the Internet, compared to Clinton's $4.2 million.
Washington pundits consider the Democratic nomination a tie so far. Obama has successful dispelled the idea that there is no viable alternative to Clinton. This is the first election since the 1970s where the Democrats have collected more than the Republicans ($80 million, all told, v. $50 million), a clear indication of shifting political sympathies in the United States.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 06, 2007
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