1. Field Offices and Camp Obama

According to the new second quarter reports, Obama is spending substantially more on staff than any candidate in either party.  Where is the money going?  
From the Politico:

His largest expense in the quarter was $3.2 million for salaries [psericks: Other news organizations are listing $5.9 million], which ranks his organization among the largest in either party. He also has expanded his reach on the campaign primary map by opening offices in California and Nevada, a new early primary state.

The image that emerges from the report is that of a massive organization in the making and one that, unlike many other candidates, can be sustained by the fundraising prowess of the candidate.

Obama has already set up 28 field offices in Iowa, almost double the number of any other Democratic candidate in the field, allowing his campaign more reach throughout Iowa.  Here's an article from the Washington Post:

All told, the six leading candidates for the Democratic nomination have 79 field offices in Iowa, according to Carrie Giddins -- the indefatigable communications director of the state party.

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) leads the way with a whopping 28 offices -- a testament to the grass-roots organizational strategy associated with Iowa state director Paul Tewes. Former senator John Edwards ( N.C.), who many people believe must win in Iowa to have a chance at the nomination, has 15 field offices. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) checks in with 12, followed by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, with 11. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) has eight, while Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) has five."

Obama has also been able to fund activist-training sessions like Camp Obama, which over the course of the summer will train around 2,000 interns to be dispatched to the early primary states or to work out of the headquarters in Chicago.
In other words, we're starting to get a picture of what Obama's campaign is going to look like and just what kind of advantage his fundraising is going to provide him.  He is going to have the funds for a great ground game in Iowa.

2. Average Burn Rates from Marc Ambinder
Obama spent more total than any other candidate, and this might be a cause for worry for the campaign as it seems to be spending an incredible amount of money.  Here's a quick chart of expenses from the second quarter:

Democrats:    
Obama       $16,042,388
Clinton       $12,769,306
Edwards     $6,485,422
Richardson  $4,983,067

However, as Marc Ambinder notes, Obama is actually spending at a much lower rate than his rivals --- and it is not only lower but substantially lower.  Obama is banking a much higher percentage of the funds he raises.  I made a chart of Ambinder's burn rates for the candidates:

Democrats:          
Obama       %53          
Clinton       %73          
Edwards     %74        
Richardson  %71
Biden          %104
Dodd           %133

Republicans:
Guiliani       %74
Romney       %100 (w/o personal funds)
McCain       %128

More from Ambinder:

In Obama's case, that's $16M spent + 0.92M debt divided by $32M raised -- or 53%.

Even though Obama spent more than Clinton -- either a little if you count debt or a lot -- he managed to keep half of what we took in. His fundraising will simmer down a bit in the third quarter, but it's fairly easy to imagine that he'll gave $25M or so in the bank come January, which will give him more than enough money to blanket the early (and later) primary states with those biographical ads that Obama's team loves to make.

Clinton burned through 73 cents out of every primary dollar she raised. That's a lot, but it's still an impressive figure. John Edwards spent 74 cents out of every dollar raised; Bill Richardson spent about 71 cents for every dollar raised.

3. Sustainability through Small Donors

The campaigns are releasing much more detailed figures about their fundraising in the second quarter.  Here are some charts of combined Q1 and Q2 fundraising from the New York Times:
Obama Donations
Under $200:      $16,545,600
$200 to $2,299:  $18,376,190
$2,300 (max):    $23,684,000

Clinton Donations
Under $200:      $4,633,860
$200 to $2,299:  $13,946,810
$2,300 (max):    $33,958,100

You'll notice that although Clinton raises about 50% more from the maximum donation level, Obama makes up the difference by raising more than three times Clinton in small donations.  
In other words, Clinton has relied much more heavily on donors maxing out to her campaign than Obama has, while on the other hand, John Edwards also beat her among small-dollar donations by raising $5,438,940.  

In short, Obama is building an organization that maximizes reach and sustainability.  

Update [2007-7-16 15:39:32 by psericks]: LA Times has some interesting comparisons:
- "The Illinois Democrat disclosed that $9.7 million of the $33 million he raised in the second quarter of 2007 came in increments of less than $200" --- that's almost a third
- Obama's share from low-dollar dollars increased significantly:

In an indication that he is raising large sums from small donors, about 45% of Obama's money came in increments of less than $1,000 in the second quarter. In the first 90 days of the year, 32% of his money came in sums of less than $1,000. Clinton, by contrast, raised 86% of her money from large donors in the first quarter. About 90% of Giuliani's money comes from donors who gave $1,000 or more.

- "Obama has shown unprecedented fundraising strength, pulling in $360,000 a day during the second quarter, of which $100,000 came in small donations."

On a side note, the Rocky Mountain News is reporting that Obama outraised other Democrats in Colorado two to one. (h/t official Obama blogger Alex MacCallum ) One of these days I'd like to pull out a calculator and work out Obama's totals by region. He seemed to do much better in the South this quarter --- was much more competitive with Edwards, perhaps because of his big events in Atlanta and Florida.

Associated Press:

Obama, however, retained an advantage over Clinton in the number of donors who could still give to his campaign. About $3 our of every $7 raised by Obama's campaign for the primary came from donors who have given the maximum $2,300 donation permitted by law. For Clinton, about three-fifths of her primary donations come from maxed-out donors.

Update [2007-7-16 16:4:22 by psericks]:: How is Obama going to sustain his small-dollar donation base? His campaign is now turning to focus on recurring monthly donations, asking supporters to sign up for a monthly $15 contribution. It's a nice strategy. The graphic reads: Help Sustain This Movement. From David Plouffe:

Right now you can do that by making a personal commitment to support Barack Obama every month until he's the Democratic nominee. The small group of people who join you -- making an automatic monthly donation of whatever they can afford -- will be a core of supporters providing a foundation that will sustain this campaign...

Be one of the first to make a small monthly commitment to sustain this campaign. With just $15 per month, you can provide the base for a campaign to change politics once and for all:

So it’s up to you to make that commitment and sustain our movement with a regular, monthly donation:

https://donate.barackobama.com/monthly

Second, the rules of this contest have not been finalized. The primary calendar is still in flux, and a number of states have already moved up their primaries and caucuses earlier than ever before.

In order to win the nomination, we may have to compete in what amounts to a national primary on February 5th. As this shift continues, we will need to expand our ground operations to remain competitive.

We can build a nationwide operation and compete everywhere -- but it's going to take an unprecedented level of resources and sound financial management.

Without your generosity we could never have made it this far. But now, by signing up to donate a small amount each month, you can provide the consistent base of support on which the campaign will make crucial decisions...

Update [2007-7-16 15:21:6 by psericks]: Here's an interesting, albeit dated (May 27th) run-down of Obama's staff in Iowa: http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/obama/obamaorgia.html