Post-Partisan Politics

This morning, the Obama campaign came out with their second quarter campaign contributions report, claiming to have raised $86 million, which is above their $60 million goal and more than what was raised by the GOP candidates combined in the same time period. However, saying that Obama and his campaign raised those funds is stretching the truth. First of all, the Obama 2012 campaign only raised $47 million in the second quarter. The additional $38 million was what was raised by the DNC, which is responsible for aiding not only the presidential candidate in 2012 but also 435 House races and 33 Senate races.[1] Furthermore, when the DNC reported its fundraising for the month of May, over half of the $10.5 million ‘raised’ in that month was actually a transfer of funds from the Obama Victory Fund, which the DNC co-owns. Thus, that $6.5 million wasn’t really new income.[2] It was a transfer from one DNC account to another. Meanwhile, the campaigns of Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain received $36 million together, independent of Republican National Committee funds. Rep. Michele Bachmann has not released her numbers yet.[1] Out of that group, Newt Gingrich has been a declared candidate for the longest, since May 11th. Mr. Obama announced his official entry into the contest on April 4th, though there was little question before that that he would run for reelection. What does this mean? Frankly, it points towards a troubled reelection campaign from the get-go. It points to a campaign that’s trying to prime the pump by taking already existing funds and making them look like fundraising success in order to get people thinking that the President’s reelection is inevitable. Let’s face reality. This president is one who is showing at between 45-50% disapproval on the general approval polling data. This is a president who is going into reelection with a 9.2% national unemployment rate. This is a president who, in the Rasmussen poll that came out yesterday is running 5 points behind a generic Republican candidate.[3] This president’s reelection is all but certain, but it’s not a lost cause yet. If this president wants to win reelection, then he and his campaign need to stop telling us how things are and start telling us how they plan to change the present conditions. Instead of moving funds around and having the focus on photo ops and bragging rights, they need to get back to basics and deal with the true facts of the situation. The President needs to lead – on the economy, on education, on the nation’s energy future. The President needs to stop handing issues (re: health care, the deficit) to Congress to come up with a solution and start developing a plan of his own. Instead of getting involved at the last minute, Mr. Obama needs to be involved from the very beginning, make his points clear, and see what deals can be reached. Instead of pointing fingers, he needs to extend his hand, not just to dignitaries and Congressional leaders but to regular American citizens. We don’t need a lecturer. We need a leader. If Mr. Obama can’t be that, then there will be another family residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue two years from now.

[1] Weisman, Jonathan. “Obama Raised $86 Million in Second Quarter.” Wall Street Journal. 13 July 2011. Accessed from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304911104576443501556845460.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
[2] Schwarz, Gabriella. “DNC fundraising boosted by Obama’s re-election.” CNN. 20 June 2011. Accessed from http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/20/dnc-fundraising-boosted-by-obamas-re-election/
[3] Election 2012: Generic Presidential Ballot. 12 July 2011. Accessed from http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/generic_presidential_ballot/election_2012_generic_presidential_ballot