I am not too sure every poor person has five dollars to give to a campaign . . . I find the request rather brazen, and I am sure someone will "call me racist" now.

As for the vido on Rudy, well, a completely different -- abortion and gays - in the Republican Party two very hot issues for debate and certainly will be used as a weapon against Rudy's candidacy.

Ok, what exactly makes Obama's video oppo worthy? I must be missing something here but I don't see anything wrong with asking your supporters to donate to your campaign. It's been done a million times over.

That's just Obama's community organizing roots showing. One of the fundamental premises of community and low-income organizing is that people still need to buy in.

The fact that our political system finds asking the low-income to have buy-in with a Presidential candidate distasteful shows just how likely it is that most of our media has never done any community organizing work.

Everyone works. Everyone pays in.

I don't get it. You get criticized for raising money in Hollywood. You get criticized for collecting donations from corporate interests. And now it's taboo to ask individuals at a political rally for money?

That being said, the clip is still amusing and worth watching.

Matt Singer is exactly right. There's nothing odd, or weird with what Obama is asking in Cleveland.

Real presidential candidates do not beg for $5.00 bills. We yet to have a real candidate with dignity, presidential gaz, gumption, and aura, eter the race, except Edwards, who may be too familiar to voters to excite them. What do we have to do, get an an average Joe, who is kamically destined to one day be president run.

Couldn't have said it better myself:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/2/124925/5960

What's that, Neil? Real Presidential candidates don't hang out with poor folks.

Cool -- your real candidates must be awesome.

"Real presidential candidates do not beg for $5.00 bills."

They beg for $2000 checks?

Funny how that clip cuts off right before the crowd cheers his request for $5 or $10. Also funny that the clip starts well after the station interviewed the folks in the room, most of whom were not what I'd call "fairly impoverished." Not to mention the humor inherent in the fact that the Hotline posted this with no indication as to who sent it or who posted it on YouTube (and no, "DeeDee Lewis," doesn't count).

Hey, now that I think about it, that clip was downright hilarious!

As Bearpaw wrote over on DailyKos:

"Senator Obama is asking for dirty money, filthy with the sweat of unwashed peasants, instead of limiting himself to money imbued with the traditional, noble stains of blood and oil."

That's what the Hotline DC insiders have a problem with.

Is there supposed to be something wrong with a politician asking for contributions? This may be the stupidest non-scandal "scandal" yet in the campaign cycle, although it is very early and I'm sure it will be topped.

There's something pretty sick about a political culture where it's unremarkable to hold fundraisers that cost thousands of dollars a plate to attend, but it inspires gasps of dismay to ask regular people for 5 or 10 bucks apiece.

Will regular folks be shocked that Obama is asking regular folks to become a part of his campaign? Not so much, I'm guessing.

"Real presidential candidates do not beg for $5.00 bills."

OMG, what a dork! I wish you could hear yourself dude.

How dare Obama ask regular people to contribute to a campaign. He obviously doesn't understand how things are done in the USA? People shouldn't give money to candidate, it's corporate lobbyists that should support candidates. After all, people may expect the winner to represent them. Corporate money never comes with strings attached.

So what amount is large enough for a presidential candidate to beg for? $100? $1,000? I'd be thrilled if all candidates limited their whoring to small amounts; consistently applied, such a strategy would go a long way toward eliminating the corrupting influence of money on the election process. The candidates who rely on large donors and $1,000-a-plate dinners may strike you as "impressive," but they are also much more likely to place the interests of the powerful and wealthy above those of most Americans.

First, the media has to go back to the 1800's to find "dirt" on Obama, now him asking supporters for $5 (a few quotes: "I'd rather get $5 from 100,000 people, than $100,000 from 5 people" and "I don't want to have to get money from Hollywood ALL the time") is also scandalous? This guy must be the most squeaky-clean candidate on the planet, ever. Grasping, desperately grasping, at straws.

Obama sounding a lot like Bill Clinton on this one, and I like it. Come on, what silly affluent white-guilt connisseurs here have a moral problem with Obama asking people for $5 donations? Its funny, the things that have been "exposed" about Obama here and there. Shit like this is really the best dirt people can dig up on the guy. He grows stronger as a candidate with each failed attack, so keep it up right wing nutcases and Hillary fanatics...

Whatever your intent with declaring the Barack Obama clip "oppo" -- as if he had done something horrible in the clip of which he ought to be ashamed -- there's an ugly subtext to your criticism of his request (made explicit by Neil Garland's idiotic comment), which is that candidates should not ask lower-income people to be part of the political process. As if they didn't have just as much of a stake in the country's progress as everyone else. Why, pray tell, should we shut them out of this? Because they'd be infringing on Exxon's and Halliburton's turf?

I'd rather see a candidate collect $1MM from 100,000 regular folks than from 500 rich people. And you won't get anything without asking.

This is the same reason the beltway establishment hated (still hates?) Howard Dean. He and Obama understand that when a working class voter gives $10 bucks to a Presidential Candidate, that voter is now invested in the candidate's success - possibly even more so than Hollywood mogul or Bush Pioneer when they raise millions. (The Bushies know this, but they are more discreet- using Church mailing lists, etc...)

Actual working class Populism scares the crap out those who depend on the status quo.

To all those who find a problem with the Obama video, where do u guys/girls live? In some remote rural-no-activity-secluded-from-the-rest-of-the-world town? Do you guys know that many middle class citizens contribute to the presidential campaign while filing for taxes? Do you know that candidates of both parties have volunteers out on the streets (e.g. in DC where I live) doing the same thing? Hell, I contributed $2.00 to Guliani's campaign, $5 to Clinton's and guess what, these volunteers accosted me on the streets.

Besides, there is a federal established MAXIMUM. I don't know of a MINIMUM!!!!! Dummies

What is news here? Hotlineblog you're reaching...BIG TIME. And if this is your opinion then are you advocating for the public financing of elections?

The unstated premise of this "attack" on Obama is that he does not intend to do anything for poor people in Rust Belt cities. Only if that is so does the request for money from poor people look bad.
Obama is a liberal, but maybe it's better if you in the DC establishment convince conservatives that "Obama doesn't care about poor people." That lie could make him palatable enough to white conservatives that he wins big, with coattails. I see 60 Dems in Senate... So please continue being stupid!

The idea that it is wrong to ask ordinary working Americans to participate in the political process by making small contributions is incredibly elitist. Apparently the people who think this is wrong think that candidates should only get money from corporate interests and rich holLiwood moguls. One of the main reasons that the government is not representing the interests of ordinary people and representing the interests of corporations and the rich is that politician are too reliant on campaign money from them and therefore have to pander to their interests.
Getting more of one's campaign money from ordinary people and less from the fat cats is the right idea.

RIGHT ON, OBAMA!

Wow Obama wants to fund his campaign with money from regular people. If he does that he might be beholden to everybody, not just fatcats! How awful! If I had pearls I'd clutch 'em.

Besides that video today at CPAC Rudy proved how clueless he on the military. He claimed Reagan put cruise missiles in Europe. Pershings are not cruise missiles.

When will Hotline get tired of trying to sludge up the silliest of the silly faux-scandals? I am almost convinced that this blog is actually just performance art by some liberals, a la Patriotboy.

Oh noes! A politician asks for small donations so he doesn't have to be beholden to special interests! Whatever will become of us!

Y'all are completely disconnected from reality, from ethics, and from any sense of patriotism.

Some of you (lookin at you, Joseph), really need to get out more. Yes, even poor people have five dollars to spare. God forbid anyone decide that the future of our country is worth more than slammin' a six-pack 2nite.

Since voting in the usa is not compulsory, I think
that it is brilliant idea from Barack to ask for five dollars, maybe the people who gave five dollars have never voted before and now they will.
Good on ye Barack

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