11 ms·

Thanks for the insightful refresher on how presidential campaigns are financed, because the last time I read up on it was back in '08 at the time of the last pr

by fmw 16y ago

Thanks for the insightful refresher on how presidential campaigns are financed, because the last time I read up on it was back in '08 at the time of the last presidential election. I'm very much in favor of private financing, actually, but with a sufficient level of transparency. I really liked how Obama seemed to get his money from small contributions by individuals. That is very different from the image of powerful special interest groups financing elections. That doesn't mean, however, that I think money from special interests groups should be fully restricted. I much rather have them pay than the government, but look favorably upon candidates that avoid creating the wrong impression by concentrating on small contributors.

lucasjung 16y ago
"I really liked how Obama seemed to get his money from small contributions by individuals. That is very different from the image of powerful special interest groups financing elections." The key words from this quote: "seemed" and "image." You are absolutely correct: Obama "seemed" to get his money from small contributions by individuals. Many (most?) Americans shared a common perception of the "image" of powerful special interest groups financing his opponents (both primary and general). I am very skeptical of this. I would very much like to see some actual numbers on the share of his campaign dollars which came from small donors vs. large contributors, and how he stacked up against his opponents and previous presidential candidates. I strongly suspect that he was more or less average, and that these perceptions were the result of very good marketing by his campaign (which is more or less what political campaigns are supposed to do). Unfortunately, I think that sorting out which of his contributions came from large or small sources will prove incredibly difficult because of the lack of quality control in his contribution acceptance system: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/22/opinion/main4538537.shtml http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/22/opinion/main453853... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002989.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10...

by fmw 16y ago

lucasjung 16y ago

"I really liked how Obama seemed to get his money from small contributions by individuals. That is very different from the image of powerful special interest groups financing elections." The key words from this quote: "seemed" and "image." You are absolutely correct: Obama "seemed" to get his money from small contributions by individuals. Many (most?) Americans shared a common perception of the "image" of powerful special interest groups financing his opponents (both primary and general). I am very skeptical of this. I would very much like to see some actual numbers on the share of his campaign dollars which came from small donors vs. large contributors, and how he stacked up against his opponents and previous presidential candidates. I strongly suspect that he was more or less average, and that these perceptions were the result of very good marketing by his campaign (which is more or less what political campaigns are supposed to do). Unfortunately, I think that sorting out which of his contributions came from large or small sources will prove incredibly difficult because of the lack of quality control in his contribution acceptance system: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/22/opinion/main4538537.shtml http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/22/opinion/main453853... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002989.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10...