We're enjoying the beginnings of a tidal wave, fellow Kossacks. We're looking at 20-1 odds that we'll take the Presidency, and the odds of expanding our Congressional majorities (!) are even better. Our candidate, for all the jokes made about it, really is a political prodigy - charismatic without being bombastic, smart without being an egghead, funny without trying too hard.
However, any mixed martial arts fan can tell you two things.
A. Anything can happen in a fight.
B. The number one cause of the better fighter losing a fight is poor conditioning.
That's why I bring this story to your attention. Long story short, Obama's raising money in October about half as fast as he did in September. This isn't a concern troll diary - the other part is that McCain's fucking broke - but join me below the fold for more on my analogy.
Here's the crux of the similarity I see between MMA and politics (and the reason I'm writing this now): both are incredibly dependent on stamina and conditioning to survive the long haul. There are no real knockouts in a campaign: something worse can always befell the candidate in the lead, and the time it used to take for a story to sink into the national consciousness has been drastically reduced.
Crazier things have happened than us losing this election.
Now to the AP story. Obama raised a mind-numbing $150 million last month, and this month he's on pace to raise about half of that, with $36 million raked in over the first two weeks. Yes, a lump about three-quarters that size is at his disposal as well, but that $27 million was raked in as a joint Obama-Democratic Party fund that the campaign has yet to dip into.
I, for one, would like to ensure that our down ticket Democrats have the funds they need to compete by ensuring Obama has the money he needs.
Because I'm counterinfuckingtuitive like that.
I sent $15 because I'm broke and would like a car magnet to cover up some of the shit on my truck. Come up with your own reason and join me.