The big bucks election: how Obama changed presidential campaigns forever
04 November 2008 à 23h05
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The US presidential candidates have never raised so much money for a campaign. The Democrat Barack Obama has broken all records. With more than 605 million dollars, he has exceeded the total of non-public funds collected by the two presidential candidates of 2004! On the Republican side, John McCain has « only » raised 238 million dollars. There is an unprecedented disproportion between the two candidates. With his advance, Obama has confirmed his talent as a fundraiser.
But is it the right strategy to win? One thing is certain: without money, a good candidate has no chance of victory. Money enables the candidates to hold meetings and to broadcast advertisements. In other words, it enables the candidates to be present on the whole territory. Since June, Barack Obama has broadcast twice as many as ads than his rival. And last week, he offered a great demonstration of his promotional strategy with his thirty-minute-message broadcast on three national channels. The Senator for Illinois has so much money that he has even used video game like « Guitar Hero » to broadcast some ads. But the strategy doesn't always work. During the primary in Ohio against Hillary Clinton, he spent twice as much on advertising as she, but he still lost.
Regardless, it is still so difficult for John McCain to compete with the funds of the Democrats that he has been forced to focus his strategy on just a hand full of states. He also uses cheaper methods such as broadcasting phone messages to voters.
Whether or not he crosses the threshold of the White House, Barack Obama has changed the way presidential campaigns are organized. He has invented a new model: more than 3 million ordinary people have contributed to his campaign with donations under 100 dollars on average. A solution to balance the classic domination of the lobbies?
But is it the right strategy to win? One thing is certain: without money, a good candidate has no chance of victory. Money enables the candidates to hold meetings and to broadcast advertisements. In other words, it enables the candidates to be present on the whole territory. Since June, Barack Obama has broadcast twice as many as ads than his rival. And last week, he offered a great demonstration of his promotional strategy with his thirty-minute-message broadcast on three national channels. The Senator for Illinois has so much money that he has even used video game like « Guitar Hero » to broadcast some ads. But the strategy doesn't always work. During the primary in Ohio against Hillary Clinton, he spent twice as much on advertising as she, but he still lost.
Regardless, it is still so difficult for John McCain to compete with the funds of the Democrats that he has been forced to focus his strategy on just a hand full of states. He also uses cheaper methods such as broadcasting phone messages to voters.
Whether or not he crosses the threshold of the White House, Barack Obama has changed the way presidential campaigns are organized. He has invented a new model: more than 3 million ordinary people have contributed to his campaign with donations under 100 dollars on average. A solution to balance the classic domination of the lobbies?
