This is my first diary hope everything is on the up and up. I'm sure someone has already "diaried" about the newsworthy part of this diary, but I have a more personal question? Okay, here goes:
Obama fundraising may be slowing down. The problem doesn't seem like primarily being an issue of obama's supporters just not giving to the campaign, from all accounts it seems like the problem may be that Clinton's major donors/fundraisers are not donating to Obama because some feel the Obama campaign is not "doing enough" to help bring down Clinton's debt.
My question to thoses donors is: What more can Obama do?
An article in the New York Times talked about the reluctance of some Obama donors to support Hillary Clinton. Since Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Barack Obama, Senator Obama's fundraisers have contributed less than $100,000 to her campaign. When one of Senator Obama's donors emailed friends asking them to contribute to Senator Clinton's campaign, some of the responses were blunt:
"Why would I help pay off debts that Hillary amassed simply to keep damaging Senator Obama?"
"Gas prices are up, the markets are in turmoil, my kid's fall tuition bill is coming soon. Writing checks to politicians I don't like is not at the top of my list."
"Not a penny for that woman. Or her husband. Or -- god forbid -- Mark Penn," a reference to Mrs. Clinton's former senior strategist, whose firm is still owed several million dollars for work that included aggressive attacks on Mr. Obama.
The article also went on to say that some Clinton donors are still bitter about what they perceive as luke-warm attempts by the Obama campaign to help with the debt.
The bitterness in the Clinton camp about the primary battle is well known, but several Clinton donors and campaign officials said a deeper issue remained unsettled: The belief — or, perhaps, the perception — that Mr. Obama and his aides are half-hearted in their efforts to help Mrs. Clinton and include her top donors on his leadership team.
Some of them griped that major Clinton donors were not being invited to crucial fund-raising meetings; were not being made to feel that they would receive credit for helping Mr. Obama win in November; and were not being given titles within the Obama campaign. An Obama aide said it was still early in the integration process of the two campaigns; he also added that the Obama operation was not as title-driven as the Clinton operation, which had various donors serving as "chairs," "co-chairs" and "Hillraisers."
Clinton donors and campaign officials say they remain surprised — and, among some, offended — that Mr. Obama has refused to ask his entire list of donors, more than 1.5 million people, to send $5, $10 or more to chip away at Mrs. Clinton’s debt. (Obama officials said they did not want to distract their donors for the main task at hand, raising money to defeat Mr. McCain.)
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Sam Stein at Huffington post reported that Obama's fundraising may be slowing a bit:
Major donors to Barack Obama's campaign were told Wednesday evening that fundraising efforts were "a little slow" and that they should help retire Hillary Clinton's campaign debt so that the New York Democrat's supporters would, in turn, give to Obama.
"There was no negativity about Hillary," said one Democrat. "In fact the opposite. Fundraising is a little slow and it is very important to ramp it up. Hillary donors are a major source of donor dollars. The message to the troops was 'Get your five checks for Hillary in so that you can ask her donors to give to Barack.'"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
As an Obama supporter, I of course side with the Obama donors, and I guess I should understand the Hilary donors point of view, but what I don't understand is exactly what more do the Hilary supporters want Obama to do? He asked his people to give to Clinton, but it's their hardearned (or inherited) money, from their pocketbooks. What else is Obama expected to do??
As we've learned from the PUMA people, just because a candidate says to "support" the nominee, doesn't mean that they will. Barack or Hilary for that matter does not control the minds and hands of their supporters (contrary to all the "kool-aid" talk). Barack cannot "stand" over each of his millions of donors and "force" them to pay Hilary's debt. He asked, and I would bet that more than a few have responded and given to Hilary and a few have not. Just like Hilary asking her supporters to support Obama, more than a few have responded and are now actively supporting Obama, but a few have joined the PUMA club. It doesn't matter how "passionately" the candidate speaks of the unity gesture, the donors are ADULTS, just like Clintons supporters are ADULTS. Short of holding a gun to each and every one's head, neither Clinton or Obama can make GROWN ASS PEOPLE do anything they don't want to.
So I ask again, WHAT MORE DOES THE MAN HAVE TO DO????