Ever since May's lackluster numbers, I think a lot of folks are worried about Obama's fundraising. I am actually GLAD that people are worried since it makes them more likely to give.
But I have been closely tracking Obama's money intake, as best as I could, over the past month and I would say we have NOTHING to worry about.
The main difference between this month and last month is that they are doing a TON of fundraisers. Having the nomination wrapped up has freed both Barack and Michelle from having to campaign constantly and both are using their time to really rake in the cash.
Yesterday Michelle held TWO fundraisers. One in the afternoon in Alabama that had about 250 guests for at least $1,000 a pop. Then in the evening, she went to Washington DC and had another one.
Last week, Michelle hit up the fashion crowd for a high-dollar fundraiser.
On Tuesday, Calvin Klein, Andre Leon Talley, Anna Wintour and her boyfriend, Shelby Bryan chaired An Evening with Michelle Obama, a $1,000-a-head fundraiser... For $2,300, guests were able to have their photo taken with the wannabe first lady. For $10,000, there was dinner after at Calvin’s home...
Warren Buffet is helping Obama to raise a boatload next week.
Superinvestor Warren Buffett plays a double header in Chicago for presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.),headlining not one but two $28,500 per-person raise or give fund-raisers on July 2. Buffett is the draw at a 7 p.m. dinner at the home of Obama national finance chair Penny Pritzker and her husband, Bryan Traubert, also chaired by Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett.
That $28,500 figure is divided up between Obama and the DNC, of course. Essentially it's all going to same goal, and $4600 directly into Obama's coffers. This was also the case at last week's big fundraiser held at the Kennedy Homestead where they raised more than $6 million dollars.
And under the radar, Barack even has his sister Maya holding fundraisers! She is in Colorado today for an event thanking volunteers and then she's doing a $250 per person fundraiser. And she was in California for several days last week, also having fundraisers. And David Axelrod held a fundraiser in Texas last week.
Obviously, Barack himself is regularly holding high-dollar fundraisers. He made $1.2 mil. at a Missouri fundraiser on June 12th, and he's held several fundraisers in the last week (including the one in Philadelphia where he made the "And did I tell you he's black?" quip).
And TONIGHT, he's holding huge event with various celebrities in Los Angeles, and raking in the Hollywood money.
Top tickets are priced at more than $30,000, with the money divided between the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Meanwhile...what about the small donors?
Since Thursday when he announced that he was opting out of public financing, he has received 105,000 contributions. That number has spiked today because they sent out a fundraising request with Obama's awesome speech to his staff and, conservatively, it's on track to hit 107,000 by the end of the day. If we take the average donation to be $90 (just a guess on my part) that's around $10 million dollars in 6 days. That follows what must have been a MAJOR fundraising haul when Obama gave his St. Paul speech, and when Hillary finally conceded.
This is just a highlight of some of the high-profile events that I have come across while tracking Obama's fundraising throughout the month. But what's also happening is that, for the first time, Hillary's fundraisers are on board. They are not at 100% yet, of course, and I imagine they will have more of an impact on July's numbers. But Barack and Hillary are having a joint-fundraiser on Thurday to help the transition. The event itself is expected to bring in $500,000 to $1 million, but more importantly, it will help Hillary's fundraisers unite behind Obama, allowing him access to an untapped source.
In short...give early and often, if you can spare it, but don't worry about the fundraising, because not only are they raking in the cash from small and large donors...they are SPENDING cash the way that a well-funded campaign does with an aggressive 18 state ad buy.
PS.
I had a really, really hard time posting this diary. My computer kept crashing and I have NO idea why. So I removed some of the links and that's how I am able to post it. But I saved all of them so if you need a link to anything please ask and I'll post it in the comments.
Update:
And, this just in! Michelle will have a major fundraiser on Thursday, for the benefit of the DNC! *via Talking Points Memo
Michelle Obama is set to keynote her first fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, another sign that the Obama camp and DNC are joining forces in preparation for a general election contest against a still-formidable Republican fundraising machine.
DNC spokesperson Stacie Paxton confirms to me that she'll headline the event, which is likely to be a high-profile affair and is set for Thursday night at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.