LONG TAIL OF FUNDRAISING
John McCain’s campaign faces a number of difficulties. One of those difficulties is the relative lack of money. McCain’s choice for public financing limits him to $84 million in total. Though his choice has been a financial one it shows he lacks something else. With campaigns advertising their hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions it appears as if this election is about ‘the big money’. In fact it is not. Obama raises his hundreds of millions with $5 and $10 dollars at the time, with multiple small contributions of the same person not uncommon. Raising money in US politics of today is about a lot of very little.

GETTING PEOPLE TO PAY
Where McCain could not figure out a way to get to a lot of this ‘little money’ Obama appears to have no problem with that at all. I think the Obama campaign signifies another interesting change in society. He has managed to build an individual relationship with his supporters where they donate money. These supporters go through the trouble of paying a small amount of money to help the person of their preference.

GETTING PEOPLE TO JOIN
But he also managed to get people to talk to each other. McCain’s campaign is about getting the message across. Obama’s campaign is about getting the connection ‘up and running’, getting people to join his movement. His message is not extremely different from McCain’s. But Obama is not afraid to change opinion, reflecting his ability and willingness to listen to his people and his campaign. Obama has found a way to tap into the network of the population of the US. He is having a conversation and, more importantly, he is facilitating constructive disagreement and not walking away from the difficult question.

But “it ain’t over untill the fat lady sings”…