Yesterday marked the last day of the fundraising quarter and President Obama admits he’s “falling behind” Mitt Romney.
In a highly unusual conference call from Air Force One, the president begged contributors to “max out” on their contributions as they did in 2008.
President Obama sounded weary and maybe a tad worried late Friday during a rambling conference call with campaign donors whom he repeatedly begged to send money—and send it now.
“The majority on this call maxed out to my campaign last time. I really need you to do the same this time,” the president said in a highly unusual (and presumably legal) fundraising pitch from Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Colorado Springs, where he’d been assessing the terrible damage caused by uncontained wildfires. A special phone on the government aircraft is dedicated to political calls that are paid for by the campaign.
“I’m asking you to meet or exceed what you did in 2008,” the presidential pitchman continued, speaking to donors who were invited to dial in based on their contributions during the last election. “Because we’re going to have to deal with these super PACs in a serious way. And if we don’t, frankly I think the political [scene] is going to be changed permanently. Because the special interests that are financing my opponent’s campaign are just going to consolidate themselves. They’re gonna run Congress and the White House.”
The president’s 18-minute pleading—a recording of which was provided to The Daily Beast by an Obama contributor—hardly sounded like a man doing a victory lap after Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling upholding Obamacare, as the Affordable Care Act has come to be known. Or, for that matter, like a candidate who has been beating his Republican opponent in recent polls of key battleground states.
Rather, Obama sounded like a dog-tired idealist forced to grapple painfully with hard reality. “In 2008 everything was new and exciting about our campaign,” Obama said. “And now I’m the incumbent president. I’ve got gray hair. People have seen disappointment because folks had a vision of change happening immediately. And it turns out change is hard, especially when you’ve got an obstructionist Republican Congress.”
The “obstructionist” congress just passed his request for $120 billion in transportation spending through 2014, as well as agreeing to hold the line on student loan interest rates — at his request — and subsidize federal flood insurance.
But this is a fascinating view into the Obama campaign that is feeling the pressure from Romney’s fundraising juggernaut while waking up to the realization that decisions made during Obama’s presidency have put off many supporters from 2008:
“I just hope you guys haven’t become disillusioned. I hope all of you still understand what’s at stake and why this is so important … I still believe in you guys, and I hope you still believe in me and the possibilities of this campaign.”
That does not sound like a confident campaigner.
Expect fundraising totals for June to show Romney with another big month, surpassing the president’s efforts again.
Or just greedy to take other people’s money. His Paris fundraising will be paid for by the taxpayers, yes?
I don’t think the idiot gets the link between pissing all over everyone and laughing about it, and having them give him money. He obviously never had to deliver any goods in return for his gravy train, so he isn’t sure just why this would occur.
Makes one wonder how he got this far, doesn’t it? It certainly wasn’t through his own idiotic efforts, was it? Have you ever read anything he’s known to have personally written? He’s semi-literate, at best.
Can you say, “Manchurian Candidate”, anyone? Commies are commies, and American ones are far more dangerous than Putin. That’s why they had to eviscerate McCarthy: he was right, all along.
And just who the hell is Valerie Jarrett, anyway, to be running this country? A little commie. That’s what. Look it up.
He’s not nearly worried enough.
May his campaign efforts continue to experience such ongoing disaster that each morning he says, “would that it were last night!” and each night he says, “would that it were this morning!”
“I’ve got gray hair.” Did he really say that? That’s hilarious. OH, well. Rome wasn’t destroyed in a day, Mr. President. It takes resolve, persistence, unflinching racism and an almost brutal stupidity to accomplish it. America’s kung-fu is strong. But just keep pouring the Third World into the milk. Eventually you’ll have water. We’re already in the Age of Copper-stealing perpetrated by the very ancestors of Montezuma’s Age of Copper and if the Dem Party continues it’s Pyrrhic victories, someday all of America can look like Detroit. The Dem Party can stick its racist tri-caucuses.
A presidency that has never had an unemployment rate below 8%, that has presided over a 50% increase in federal debt, and that helped arm the Mexican drug gangs–which should be the scandal of the century–has difficulty raising campaign cash. Who could have predicted that?
If in September or October it looks like Obama will lose, his funding will completely dry up. There are a lot of contributions that are protection money–it is the Chicago way.
What we have here is a man and his colleagues who spent their time in the cloistered halls of academia constructing an elaborate social engineering model of how things would work if they were in charge. Much like someone constructing a model train set in their basement.
They fully expected that giving a boatload of money to state governments and their union buddies (aka The Stimulus) would have the economy humming along nicely (remember ‘recovery summer’?). They figured that as a result, there would be no need for an actual campaign in 2012. The recovering economy and Obama’s coolness would be all that would be necessary to ensure a second coronation.
So before he makes all of America run out of Other People’s Money,
He, himself, is running out of Other People’s Money.
Only he can’t FORCE anyone to donate the same way he can FORCE them to contribute through the Tax Code.
Look for some method of Compulsory Contribution Method to be proposed by him sometime soon. You know, for purposes of “Fairness.”
After all, it’s NOT FAIR that an Incumbant President be Outspent by his Chalanger.
Obama the man forever decrying “special interests”.
Obama whose whole administration is forever indebted and in bed with special interests including public employee unions, trial lawyers, Sierra Club and related mother earth firsters, planned parenthood and other abortion on demand zealots, Blacks with a racial reparations/quota agenda, big corporations who back his vision of a green America with Solyndra being a prime example, to big to fail businesses who get favored treatment witness GM, and of course private sector unions who get out the vote.
Without special interests Obama would be a man without a single supporter in this fair land!
A cornered beast is the most dangerous. The illegal, desperate money-grubbing is just getting cranked up, and the FEC and MSM will turn a blind eye once again. It is apt that Barkah kicks off July 4th begging from French socialists. Doodad Pro has deep pockets and can always be counted on in a pinch. That AF1 beg is the last we’ll hear about his money woes.
So are you suggesting that he has reached Barack Bottom?
Louisiana had Huey “Kingfish” Long. We’ve got Barry “Catfish” Obama. He has never left the bottom.
An indication of the desperation of the Obama campaign is that it sent me a form letter soliciting funds for the campaign. I have not voted for a Democratic Party presidential candidate for decades.
““The majority on this call maxed out to my campaign last time. I really need you to do the same this time,” the president said in a highly unusual (and presumably legal) fundraising pitch from Air Force One ”
Is it legal? Didn’t Al Gore skirt trouble by fundraising from his office? Investigate Dear Liar!
This smacks of “I’m the victim” syndrome.
What does “fallin’ behind” really mean in “obama speak?” HUH? In 2008 its a well known fact that from internet donations alone he collected $750 million dollars. That doesn’t factor in (2008) his “friends from Chicago,Hollywood and Wall Street crowd.” He’s been “gold minin’” (in 2012)the same old ore deposits as in 2008.
Barry “O” has increased welfare recipients well beyond the estimated 39 million in late 2007 early 2008 to some 49 million estimated today. This is his other base.
Lastly, his tried and true “Black, Hispanic, Asian” coalition is well and in the fold as it were. NAH!! Kabuki theatre. “Right/hand, Left/hand” flim-flammery…pulling americans strings, leading all to the ultimate demise…a bloody slaughter.
If republicans really want to win in 2012 (the Senate) here’s an idea for a blueprint:
US Senate elections will be held November 6, 2012. 33 of the 100 seats will be up for election. 21 are held by democrats, 10 by republicans and 2 by independents. In order for democrats to maintain majority they’ll necessarily have to win 21 seats. Republicans need to win 14 in order to win back the Senate.
In order to focus like a laser beam on US Senate incumbents who are not seeking re-election, 10 are leaving: 6 democrats, 3 republicans and 1 independent. They are: Ben Nelson(D)Maine, Daniel Akaka(D)Hawaii, Herb Kohl(D) Wisconsin, Jeff Bingaman(D)New Mexico, Jim Webb(D)Virginia and Kent Conrad(D)North Dakota. Then Jon Kyl(R) Arizona, Kay Bailey Hutchinson(R) Texas and Olympia Snowe(R)Maine. Lastly there’s Joe Lieberman(I)Connecticut.
As of June 30, 2012 the situation in the US Senate was thus: current seats …47(R), 51(D) and 2(I). Contested seats…10(R), 21(D), and2(I). Of this there are: open seats…5(R), 6(D) and1(I).
From this there are: projected gains of…4(R), 1(D) and 1(I). Conversely there are: projected losses of: 1(R), 4(D) and 1(I).
End results of these projections are: 50(R) seats, 48(D) seats and 2(I).
Anticipated change is as follows:+3(R), -3(D) and 0(I). This is not filibuster proof. Much ground work, phone banks, candidate messaging, name recognition, position papers (bulleted preferably), door hanging, billboards, TV spots must be immediately generated for republican candidates. If not, Senate and House will not have enough support for President Romney to realize a constitutional conservative platform, party plank and agenda. God Bless America.
Can’t all of us give just a few dollars a month to help a starvin’ Barry?
(Queue sad violin music and Sally Strothers)
And Rob Ryner, don’t forget Rob Ryner.
I expect Barry-O will make up the difference with foreign money.
It’s beyond the pale that we allow foreign citizens to fund our political campaigns. If you’re not a citizen or at least a resident of the US, you have no business intruding into our affairs. Time to fix this one.