The countdown to 2 million donors has just been passed! As of 9:46pm, just over 2 million donors (2,003,457 to be exact) have donated to the Obama campaign. In June alone Obama raised $52 million, far surpassing even the highest of estimates. But the most remarkable and reward part is this fact - the average donation was $68. Talk about people powered politics in action!
Obama's donor prowess has been remarkable ever since the launch of his presidential campaign in early February 2007. Despite Markos' prediction of Obama winning the nomination way early in the process (months before the Iowa caucuses), Hillary Clinton was always deemed the presumptive nominee and mega front-runner.
It all started with the people-powered movement back in early 2007, which culminated with a record $32.5 million in the 2nd quarter of 2007 - the end of which a full six months before the first primary.
As more Americans began to see the amazing candidate that was Barack Obama, his campaign coffers kept piling up the dough, up to this day. We're still waiting for July numbers, and I'm betting they will be great as well. I can only imagine what August will bring in with the Democratic National Convention finishing off the month.
Why is the 2 million donor mark extremely significant? First of all, it demonstrates the breadth of the Obama campaign and movement. We have all been inspired by Obama as we have closely followed his campaign, but we expect that - we are, after all, political junkies here. The netroots, while growing larger and larger every day, is still a relatively small segment of American politics. So for a progressive candidate to receive intense support from all facets of America - including those who've never visited a political blog ever - bodes will for the future of this nation.
Second, it demonstrates the power of the internet in running a truly people-powered campaign. We've heard the ludicrous complaints of flip-flopping from the McCain campaign about Obama rejecting public campaign funding, while completing ignoring the obvious - the Obama campaign is the largest publicly funded campaign ever in America.
And lastly, it provides continued financial support to Obama. This is vital to keep the 50 state strategy up and running, a winning strategy and one proudly endorsed by Obama himself. The 50 state strategy helps out Obama now while setting up the infrastructure for future elections.
With Republican 527s potentially spending upwards of $250 million towards attacking Obama, continued donations to Obama is essential to victory.
I'm a cash-strapped college student, but I just kicked in another $25.
Will you join me?
Donate to Barack Obama!
**Update** - Woo, my first rec'd diary! I'm proud to have it be about a grand moment in the Obama campaign as we head into Denver. BTW, my dad will be in Denver at the Democratic convention - he's a truck driver for the production company that is producing broadcasting the entire convention. He should have a press pass, so I'm expecting some awesome pictures from his brand new digital camera in a few weeks!