First, this isn't an Obama hit piece, or a puff diary, even though I do support Obama if Gore stays out it. Rather, it is my belief that the money Obama and the other Dems have raised is part of a much larger picture. A picture that includes the accelerated primary calender, the unprecidated early start of the election "season", the huge crowds so early in the contest, and so on.
Many here, as well as many of the pundits blame the early start on the media, claiming that the media is driving this frenzy, and we should all just relax because it's far to early for all this right now.
Not so, and here's why. This time, the primary is the real presidential race, and the general election will only serve as an afterthought. Explanation below...
The truth of the matter is this, Bush has done more for our side than anyone in modern history. First, he has driven a stake through the Republican party and the gains Reagan made, to the extent that if the Republican "brand" was a corporation, it would be downgraded to junk status at this point. Therefore, the chance of this country electing a Republican to the presidency in '08 is just about 0, despite the head to head polls.
At the same time he has "radicalized" huge sections of the electorate, ie...turned them from passive participants into "activists", because many more folks have awoken to the fact that politics really does matter, it really is relevant to their daily lives...including whether they continue to have lives at all.
Third, the country is desperate to turn the page. A few months back, some 58% of the population wished that this administration was simply over. People are freaked out about Bush, but know there is zippo chance of just making him go away right now.
The upshot of all this? People are getting involved because far more people want to have something to say about who the next president is, and they aren't voting for any Repug. They are concentrating on what comes next already because picking the right guy or gal to pick up the pieces is all they can do to have any hope for the future, since changing Bush's policies or getting rid of him appears impossible.
Therefore, the Democratic primary is where the action is, this is the battleground were the next president will be chosen, and vastly more folks realize this is their only chance to have some say about their futures than is normally the case.
That's what is behind the huge crowds, the huge amounts of money going to the Dems, the accelerated calender, and so on. In this case, the media isn't driving the story, rather they are constantly playing catch up.