I sat here trying to think of a comment for this, but i couldnt think of one!!

okay, how about "who cares?" thats generic enough for this.

I don't think of this as "who cares" this is HUGE, 150mil, in this economy, with the race this close, this close to election day, at $86 average - that is insane.

I would rather see those donations go to charity than to redundant negative campaign commercials. I didnt give to the RNC I gave to my churches Turkey basket drive, last year we made baskets for 500 families to have thanksgiving dinner.

I think we would all rather this money goes to people who need it, instead of commercials and robo calls - but the reality is the reality, campaigns are movements and have had money/effort donated to them since the dawn of time, and when this many people give so much, at a time when they can least afford it, it is newsworthy. Regardless of what we would rather have happen, the fact that it happened does not make it less noteworthy.

Some of that 150-million came from me - AND I gave to charity. Fewer cokes and pizzas for the family, but it's money well spent!

CG, don't forget an entire channel.

CaterpillarGirl: Um well then don't donate your money to political campaigns. The people who donated that money, myself included, knew exactly where that money would be distributed. And zeze is right, no matter your own political affliations, this is huge. He didn't take public financing and a majority of his donors for most of the campaign have been giving in small amounts. To reach that amount when people have been giving about $5 is a very big deal. And if you look at polling, the majority of people believe that McCain is running a %100 negative campaign. Obama doesn't need to go negative--it's not working for McCain and it certainly wouldn't work for him.

Oh, and a commercial during every single break on bbc america primetime.

I was at the mall yesterday, and it was packed, and I looked to see if people were just there to window shop, but they all had bags galore. Didnt look like anyone was hurting from the economy to me!

Also...at the halloween store here? standing room only.

I am glad that Obama's campaign is funded 100% by his supporters. I think Obama's decision to not use tax-payer money to fund his campaign should be supported by those that don't like him. After all, aren't there republicans out there that are HAPPY that their tax money isn't going toward Obama ads? I know I'd feel a lot better if I didn't think that my money was going toward McCain's campaign.

ekaterina, UM, i have seen plenty of negative ads from BOTH sides. I dont look at polls, they are malarkey.

630,000 new donors is pretty impressive. The amount of money does seem pretty insane.

Obama has so much money he can match every single of one of McCain's negative ads AND have money left over for positive ads. Which is basically what he's doing if you look at the numbers.

Out of curiosity, does anybody know what happens to any leftover money when the campaign is over?

i had a feeling that it would be over 100 million but i had no idea that it would be that huge!! unbelievable!! i hear mccain complain about public funding but in my eyes if obama was to choose the 84 million, i would have thought he was an idiot for not capitalizing on the amazing fundraising he has had. and i think people on the other side would have said he was blowing off his supporters or something like that.

i think left over money is used for future campaigns maybe or is given to the DNC/RNC whichever one. im not totally sure.

I didn't know if it could be used for future campaigns because I thought there were really strict rules on what it could be used for. Like maybe money donated for Obama '08 could only be used for and Obama '08 campaign.
But I'm really not sure, and that's why I asked. There's a lot about campaign financing I'd like to understand better.

Here's what FactCheck says about leftover money:

: What happens to a candidate's leftover campaign funds when he or she drops out of the race?
Do candidates for elected office keep donations to their campaigns for personal use after they lose or drop out? Or do those donations have to go into a greater party fund?

A: The big rule is: no personal use.
As Bob Biersack from the Federal Election Commission points out, most candidates don’t have much left over to begin with. Campaigning is expensive, and “leftover” money gets used for bills and debts first, including expenses incurred while winding down an abandoned campaign or a lost political office.

Candidates do sometimes end up with surplus funds, though, particularly if they're incumbent members of Congress who decide not to run for another term. State and local governments have their own rules, but those running for federal office -- including presidential candidates -- must abide by strict FEC guidelines when it comes to their extra campaign money. They can donate an unlimited amount to a charity or political party. They can also, within limits, make contributions directly to other candidates. A campaign committee can give up to $2000 per election to each candidate. If the committee is converted into a political action committee, the limit jumps to $5000 – but to be established as a PAC, the committee would have to be in existence for six months, receive contributions from 50 donors, and make contributions to five recipients.

What candidates can’t do with leftover money is use it for personal expenses. Retiring federal lawmakers used to be able to pocket extra cash and use it for cars, vacations, clothes, pet grooming, whatever -- but that changed in 1989 with the passage of the Ethics Reform Act.

Thanks for the info stephley.

Thanks for looking that up for me, Steph! Depending on how many ads he decides to air, Obama's favorite charity might be seeing a big donation in November. I'm sure he'll give some of it to the DNC, but I can't see him passing over charities completely if there's extra money.

It's a good question, clearly Obama's going to have extra.

I love it "the big rule is no personal use"

I was at the rally in KC and it was more than words can describe! The letters from the picture were more amazing to see in person. My husband is pretty tall so he took a pic that looks amazingly close to "that one"! It was an amazing experience that proves this campaign can change our world and testament to the money he is raising FROM the people.

"It was an amazing experience that proves this campaign can change our world"

So, crowd equals change the world? Uh oh, Madonna and Britney bring in big crowds too.

GS I was at the Jonas Brothers concert a couple weeks ago, those boys are changing the world.....

That's a petty thing to harp on, GS. Seriously. Lynne experienced something that left her awestruck and made her proud...whats the argument in that? Good grief.

Maybe Lynne meant that it was great to see so many supporters out, and maybe that number of people gave her some sort of signal that people do want change. Not trying to put words in her mouth at all, but I'm just guessing.

(Side note--Lynne, isn't KC great? My bf's from there and we missed out on going this summer, but I love it.)

Also, concerts can be life-changing, depending on how you feel about music (or, uh, the Jonas Brothers)...

I know people with very little money leftover at the end of the month who gave small amounts to Obama.

Em, My niece won tickets, and i volunteered to go with her and her friend. I am still deaf from them screaming.

Ah remember those days? My first real concert? David freaking Cassidy!

CG, you should bring ear plugs next time. My good friend works as someone's personal assistant, and (no joke) she has to take his kids to concerts. She's survived Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers with earplugs.

I think it is inspiring to see 100,000 passionate and committed to voicing their opinions about the direction of our country. You rarely see that many people at a political rally...it's much different than a concert!

It's just like the feeling I had when I saw that we could just as many comments on a Citizen post as there were on a Britney Spears post on Pop. I am glad that my fellow citizens find politics as interesting as I do!

Even if we don't agree, it makes me happy that you care enough to have an opinion about how our country.

It was pretty petty to mock Lynne.

Em I went to the Hannah Montana one also, I did bring plugs to that one. I wish i had taken pictures of how harried all the parents looked walking away like "i just spent 100 bucks on Hannah montana t shirts wigs and I think i just bought a hannah montana tea cozy"

Obama has run a very organized and disciplined campaign, lets give credit where credit is due. Some might argue he has run one of the best campaings ever, especially financially. I mean Hillary was out of money by Super Tuesday.

I dunno, I think GS raises a valid argument. Maybe this says something about me, but I tend to think that the masses are ignorant drones that easily get caught up in the hype of being a part of a "movement" without necessarily fully understanding what that movement is or where it is going. I am not saying this because I'm anti-Obama, but the fact is that throughout history millions of people have been swept up in movements lead by charismatic people that ended up causing huge catastrophes. I'm not saying electing Obama would end up in a huge catastrophe. I tend to believe that no matter who gets elected, government will still be mired in partisanship and move along at a crawl. All of these "coke in the water fountain" promises from both candidates will end up being pipe dreams. In the words of U2, "I'd join the movement if there was one I could believe in."

Well, I think Bono (King of Ireland!) likes Obama, so maybe that's the movement he believes in.

I also think it's a bit unfair to lump someone (Lynne) into the category of "ignorant drone". She went to a rally and was wowed by it. Unless the people at the rally were doing some sort of organized movements with arm gestures, or were convulsing while looking posessed, then...yeah, don't see the problem. I don't see the stupidity there, and there's an awful lot of assuming going on with her comments when she's not around to defend/affirm them.

Yes, all 100,000 people are ignorant drones that are caught up in the hype.
And Bono works pretty hard with the One Campaign, so apparently, at he found a movement to believe in.

...and yeah, you're right, some people who go to rallies and shout "traitor", "terrorist", and boo the very man they are there to see (cough McCain cough) are definitely ignorant drones. I'm with you on that point.

yeah, they are.

I cant say "movement" and "Bono" in the same sentence since the southpark episode with him in it.

I meant to em not steph.

I'm not going to blindly follow an Irish pop singer. I just like the line.

i think that there's something to be said about how someone can raise that much money for their campaign yet we're all in such a hole financially. go figure how that works! he has more money than he knows what to do with. oh well..i guess that's what happens when you have friends w/ deep pockets or lots of Americans who want to contribute.

I'm not saying Lynne is a mindless drone. It's nice to feel the warm-fuzzies, but where does it get us? Are we getting them from the content and substance of what's being said? What kind of a revolution is happening here? Will there be one, or will it be politics as usual( I tend to think the latter) when the campaign season is over? How or who will the movement help and/or hurt? It does feel good to be a part of something bigger than you. I know that.

Steph, I find most of what you say petty. Should we follow each other around to let the other know from now on? And I said nothing of Lynne herself. I made a comparison. And surprise surprise, the people coming to the attack are obama fans. Shocker.

And dude, you're spot on.

Well Dude, the March on Washington led to serious changes in civil rights law in this country - a warm fuzzy that produced something important, at least to many of us. The anti-war marches in the early '70s often are credited with hastening the end of the war in Vietnam. And, for the conservatives in the audience, there is the annual March for Life in Washington that always draws sizeable crowds - are they just there for the warm fuzzies?

think of where all that money could go? In Canada we spent 250 million over our elections just now..and really we got more or less the same gov't. I think about 9 seats changed hands in the ruling party...

Well said, steph.

I feel like it's been made into a bad thing, or at least a laughable thing, for people to join in a movement for someone who has inspired them to become active in political causes and in the struggle to bring true progress to their nation and world. How did that happen?