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COLUMNISTS
TODAY'S STORIES
07.02.2008
Where The Hell Did That Come From?

Obama's post-Super Tuesday fundraising haul is certainly impressive. But Hillary's--while not as big--is more surprising. After all, the assumption was she didn't have a small donor base. But now she suddenly does. From Marc Ambinder:

In the 24 hours since polls closed on Super Tuesday, as more than $4M in donations from 35,000 new donors have poured into Clinton's campaign, according to a senior campaign official. (As of 11:00 am, the total is nearly $5M.)

That $5 million loan is looking like it was her Oral Roberts moment.

--Jason Zengerle 

Posted: Thursday, February 07, 2008 11:30 AM with 15 comment(s)

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boxofrox said:

"That $5 million loan is looking like it was her Oral Roberts moment."

Good one.

February 7, 2008 11:50 AM

boneill said:

That is impressive.  

February 7, 2008 11:57 AM

boneill said:

What is the number of Obama donors?

February 7, 2008 11:58 AM

FWright said:

I thought this post was going to be about Quentin Thomas.

It really is remarkable - nothing rallies the public to Hillary's side than apparent adversity.  If she gets the nomination, the Republicans just might Swift Boat her into the White House.

February 7, 2008 12:01 PM

Rhubarbs said:

America's middle-aged white women have a lot of disposable income, and American business does a poor job of asking for their money. TV ads mainly target younger and male customers.

So there's pent-up demand for someone to ask middle-aged white women for their money. Hillary's apparent desperation only helps make the sell. The victim card is on the table, and Hillary is in a good position to double down.

Isn't Oprah's best potential value to Obama her mastery of the middle-aged-women's culture of victim/recovery sisterhood, in terms of being the person who could "call out" Hillary? Otherwise, every time Hillary fails, she gets a free pass to call for gender-based support.

Plus, if Hillary really needed $5 million, why didn't she just give it to herself, instead of making it a loan? I'm not giving dollar one to any candidate who has promised to pocket my donation personally, as Hillary has done with her self-loan. Or, if she needed the $5 million, why not ask for it before Feb. 5, rather than making the loan and keeping it secret?

February 7, 2008 12:02 PM

virginiacentrist said:

If....you believe the Clintons.

Frankly - I think they saw the big haul coming in for Obama, and just made up some numbers.

Time will tell.

February 7, 2008 12:12 PM

Jason Zengerle said:

ha! good one about QT. but i thought he actually played pretty well. if only lawson and ellington and green had played. wait, you mean ellington and green did play?

February 7, 2008 12:14 PM

boneill said:

I don't know- we shouldn't discount this.  I am actually terrified now that it looks like Obama is up- the Clinton's are at their best when fighting for their politcal lives.  I actually think that is the reason, or maybe it explains, why Bill is so reckless*.  Dude thrives on living on the edge.  So I am worried here.  Never count out this family.  

*I am sure this point has been made by millions of other people

February 7, 2008 12:22 PM

spencer97m said:

What is up with the times of these postings?  Is TNR on Greenwich time for some stupid reason?

February 7, 2008 1:03 PM

dcshungu said:

Despite having had nearly every one of their assumptions repeatedly repudiated  by the voters, the crew of TNR blogs continues to relentlessly dish out more of the same flawed assumptions in the desperate hope of  passing them reasoned analysis. One definition of insanity that particularly applies to this crew is "to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome each time."

Sad...

February 7, 2008 1:10 PM

bcbaird said:

spencer97m:

You need to change your time zone settings under "edit profile."  For whatever reason, it sets GMT as default.

February 7, 2008 1:41 PM

boxofrox said:

dcshungu:

Seems to me that your own expectations have been compromised by reality. Or are you now willing to accept the fact that your favorite candidate is in a tough fight.

February 7, 2008 1:43 PM

bcbaird said:

Any word on the cash reserves of each campaign?  Clinton had to lend herself $5 million, Obama seems to be doing alright with the $32 million he raised last month (To Hillary's ~$13 million).  Seems to me no matter how impressive the short-term hauls are for Hillary, Obama is still coming out ahead.

February 7, 2008 1:47 PM

dbhuff said:

I'm surprised too.  The analysis previously had Obama at slightly over half of his doners were in the <$200 while Hill was slightly less than 1/3rd.  So actually not a huge difference in percentage, but if you then count the total number of doner, the math works out so that HRC should have a lot fewer doners total and so a lot fewer small.  She claims 35k more.  What's funny is i'm not sure I believe her.  Why only now do we hear about it?  AFter Obama put a counter up and you can watch your donation hit...what is Clinton's transparency on this?  Sorry, but the shenanigans of their past make me wonder...

Still, calling either of them underdog now doesn't make much sense.  And BOs memo that it could be tied into the convention makes me sweat...

February 7, 2008 3:42 PM

The Plank said:

So, as Michelle notes , it turns out that Hillary&#39;s massive fundraising haul means her top staffers

February 7, 2008 6:59 PM