As of late, Obama has been verbally ripping apart these establishment democratic talking points that accuse him of being inexperience and soft. While speaking at a house party in Concord, New Hampshire this Monday, he hammered home the strength of his campaign and his strong desire to fight on the behalf of Democrats.
The Boston Globe reported on the event in an article yesterday entitled Obama says strength lies in number of donors. The article highlights what Obama chose to emphasize about his record breaking fundraising numbers:
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Monday resisted the temptation to talk about his whopping $31 million fundraising quarter -- for six minutes."It's a wonderful thing only because of this: It's a wonderful thing because we've got 250,000 people who have donated to our campaign," the Illinois senator said at a campaign rally. "People said we couldn't compete, by trusting in the American people, but we can. There are a quarter million people who want to see a new health care system out there. There are a quarter million people who want to turn the page on our energy policy. There are at least a quarter million people who are ready to see this war in Iraq brought to an end."
He clearly recognizes the that bigger accomplishment to come out of this record breaking fundraising quarter was the sheer amount of donors that invested in his campaign. I was one of them and I admire how humble he is about the amount. Even Hillary Clinton chimed in on his whopping 31 million by saying, "I think his campaign did a terrific job."
What was most interesting is how he linked both, his large donor base and the rigors of the primary campaign to his general election viability.
"I'm raising twice as much money as any of the Republicans, which means that if they come at me with an attack ad, I'll have two ads -- with truth -- on television," Obama said. "They come at me with two ads, I'll have four Obama 'truth ads.' The Truth Squad will be out. We're going to take that seriously...I'm skinny, but I'm tough."Obama said he could prove that toughness against a rival campaign during the primary.
"If I win the nomination against Hillary Clinton, then I must be pretty tough. I'm just being realistic. They don't play. They're very serious about winning, as are, I think, all of my very worthy competitors," Obama said.
Obama notes in the above quote that he is raising twice as much money as the highest Republican candidate Giuliani (Jonathan Singer has a front post on the money amounts, Dems Hold Massive Lead in Just Q2 Primary Dollars Raised, Too) thus pointing out that he could fight back their attacks twice as hard.
During the past several months, the questions about substance got answered as the Obama campaign unleashed a range of bold proposals covering everything from universal healthcare to presidential ethics reform. Now he is finally pulling the wool off his ability to fight for progressive values. Obama has clearly set a high standard for how to run a campaign and I am certain that I speak for all supporters when I say that we are happy to be a part of it.
"There are some things worth fighting for and if people disagree and we can't persuade them then we just got to beat them."- Barack Obama, AFSCME Presidential Forum '07
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