The Return of People Power

People really are tired of the corruption in Washington. Not only did the Democrats outraise the Republican Party and its deep pockets (don't forget Republican supporter Sam Fox and the $50,000 he donated to the dishonest Swift Boat group that smeared John Kerry; Bush just appointed him ambassador to Belgium), but they brought back the concept of people power. The Democrats can't compete with Republican billionaires and hucksters like Ralph Reed who manipulate good honest religious folks into donating for phony causes, but as the traditional party of the people, the Democrats can bring out the crowds. People want to do something to fix the corruption in Washington and waiting until November of 2008 isn't enough. So people are digging into their pockets and contributing to Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama and other Democrats.

Hillary Clinton, with her years of Washington experience and major fundraising experience raised the most of any Democrat but just barely. Progressive newcomer, Barack Obama, almost matched Hillary in dollar amounts but the real message of his campaign is that he's reaching people. Here's the story from Jeremy Pelofsky of Reuters:

Democratic presidential newcomer Barack Obama said on Wednesday he has raised $25 million this year, almost matching his higher profile opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton and solidifying his bid for the party nomination.

Obama, a fresh face on the national stage who has served just two years in the U.S. Senate, fell only $1 million short of the New York senator...

Obama, 45, reported receiving more than 100,000 donations totaling at least $25 million, $6.9 million generated through Internet donations.

Clinton, 59, who has led the early national polls for the Democratic nomination in 2008, reported tapping 50,000 donors to raise $26 million. She raised $4.2 million via the Internet and added $10 million more from her most recent Senate campaign.

Since Hillary Clinton considers herself the moderate Democratic candidate, one can argue that Barack Obama and John Edwards are the progressive candidates and their combined total of contributions and contributors far surpasses Hillary Clinton. A 100,000 for Barack Obama and 40,000 for Edwards comes to 140,000 contributors, almost three times the number of those contributing to Hillary Clinton. Clearly, we have a wide open race. Of course, campaigns wax and wane, but I suspect people are in the mood for real change, not modest bandaids.