Online donations are emerging as a cornerstone of the fund-raising efforts of Senator Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards, who have raised roughly a third of their money through Internet contributions, mostly in small-dollar amounts. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has been aggressive online as well. Their efforts have paid off with a rapidly growing army of small donors, many of whom have demonstrated a willingness to give again and again.
Newly released data show that for the first six months of the year, the three leading contenders for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, Mr. Obama of Illinois, Mr. Edwards of North Carolina, and Mrs. Clinton of New York, raised more than $28 million online, a figure that does not include second-quarter results from Mrs. Clinton, whose campaign declined to release them. In contrast, the three top Republican candidates, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Senator John McCain and Mitt Romney, raised about $14 million over the Internet.
Just the other day Giuliani’s Southern campaign chair Senator David Vitter from Louisiana admitted to using prostitutes. Today John McCain’s House co-chair Florida state Rep. Bob Allen faces charges of soliciting homosexual sex from an undercover police officer.
“I am filing a not guilty plea. I am vigorously going to fight this,” he said. “I am not resigning my office, because the people elected me [and] want me to do a good job and I am going to do a good job for them in finishing this term. …
“This is an ugly and unpleasant situation that has been thrust upon me and my family that is not true, it is inaccurate and it is therefore not guilty.”
Two more campaign staffers compromising an important part of his Iowa team left. “Edward D. Failor Jr., who ran the Iowa field operation for the Bush campaign in 2004 and signed on to the McCain campaign in February, said that he and Karen Slifka, another top Iowa aide, were resigning from the increasingly lean McCain Iowa operation.”
Filmmaker Michael Moore has made Health Care a hot issue with his new documentary film Sicko. The top three democrats have released their own comprehensive plans (Look inside Obama & Clintons) and plenty of Republicans have a lot of things to say about the film and what they term “socialized medicine”.
“Frankly, Michael Moore is an example of why the health care system costs so much in this country. He clearly is one of the reasons that we have a very expensive system. I know that from my own personal experience,” said Huckabee, who lost more than 110 pounds and became an avid runner after he was diagnosed with diabetes.
“I know how much more my health care cost when I didn’t take care of myself than when I do take care of myself, not only in terms of doctor visits but regular diseases, illnesses, chronic things that come up, monthly prescription bills,” Huckabee said. “All of those things have gone dramatically down since I’ve taken care of myself and worked to live a healthier lifestyle.”
