The extremely dry, and sometimes mind numbing website of the FEC has a new link up on their homepage concerning a new AOR about to be issued in regards to the Barack Obama 2008 Presidential campaign. Perhaps, some of you will find this insignificant, or perhaps already blogged, although "Obama" and "FEC" turned up nothing under my search. I draw at least two conclusions from reading this document and I invite you to do the same. If someone has already blogged about this, please let me know and I will pull it down. I will elaborate below the jump.
The initial link from the FEC website leads you to a press release, which states:
The draft proposes that Senator Obama may solicit and receive contributions for the 2008 general election without waiving his eligibility to receive public funds for the general election, under the conditions described in the request, that is:
Contributions designated for the general election will be kept in a separate escrow account;
Only the campaign treasurer and chief operating officer will have access to this account; and
The funds in this account will not be used for any purpose.
Under the draft proposal, if Senator Obama wins the Democratic nomination and decides to receive public funding for the general election, then he must refund all general election contributions within 60 days of certifying his eligibility for public funds.
The link to the actual AOR which is scheduled to be on the March 1, 2007 FEC open meeting is found here.
In my opinion, this demonstrates a strong ability to parallel plan, and prepare for the upcoming election season. Today is February 24, 2007. We are just under a year away from Iowa, and over a year away from the Convention. Senator Obama, is fixing to stretch out the proverbial political palm and ask for money. You can donate here. I am merely, speculating, but if he is fixing to set himself up to run without public monies in the general election, than I believe it is reasonable to presume most of his donors will be the kind that cap out their donation limits in a single day. It isn't even March, and the political wheels are being greased. Foresight can go along ways in this race. It will be interesting to see who can plan and prepare for the upcoming election and who can't. I am a firm believer in the amount of preparation you do before an event, is directly correlated to your performance in the event. Just for fun I have thrown in my own poll. Feel free to tout how your candidate is preparing for the battle to win the nomination. I am also throwing in one of my own novel ideas. It has always been a fantasy of mine to see a bunch of uncommitted delegates chosen for the convention and see the nomination picked in this fashion.