$25 Million.
10 years ago no one knew his name. 10 years ago everyone knew Hillary's name.
5 years ago he spoke out against the War in Iraq. 5 years ago Edwards voted to authorize the war.
He's arguably the least marketable candidate on paper. Strange name, shortest resume, etc. Yet he's at the top of the list. He's got game.
The headlines for the fundraising are over and the clear winner in Q1 is Obama. That he's making headlines at all right now is significant. Months ago we might have thought it would have been Clark or even Biden or Richardson along with Edwards and HRC. But Obama is right up there.
The money's there, the infrastructure will follow. Arguably, the reason he was late in reporting was because he didn't have the resources the others had. But he's a candidate that really started with nothing, so he's going to need more time to gear up. HRC and Edwards have had name recognition and stable supporters for better than 3 to 4 years or longer. Now that he's got $25M, he'll staff up better and and be more timely. Or, he'll be a little late, but use that to his advantage in the game of controlling news cycles.
Let's also not forget that he's not white. Whatever side you want to come down on regarding race, his background, color, whatever you want to call it, puts him at a disadvantage next to a guy like Edwards. In terms of 'minority' status, HRC possibly trumps him because she's a woman. But that Obama is where he is given his inter-racial background is a story in and of itself.
Lastly, I know it aint over - it's far from over (see, Dean in Iowa in 2004). But in less than one year, we'll know who our nominee will be and with really about 10 months to go, Obama's where most of the candidates, Democrat or Republican, wish they were.