Opinion: Barack’s body count

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These next couple of days will be dominated by presidential candidates spinning the expectations game --- setting their bars either high or low --- as the latest fundraising period ends on Saturday. Democratic contender Barack Obama, though,is flogging a set of numbers without a dollar sign: individual donors.

As of this morning, nearly 250,000 individuals had kicked in cash to Obama. (Evening update: the campaign just reported hitting its magic number). In the first six months of the race for cash in the White House derby, that dwarfs the 70,000-donor set by Howard Dean’s 2004 run, when his campaign revolutionized fundraising through the Internet. Of course, we all know how that turned out.

Obama has the quarter-million donor mark as a campaign goal through June 30, and his campaign is tracking the tally on its website, telethon-style. It’s meant to show Obama as the Democratic candidate of the little guy.

In the first quarter, as Hillary Clinton went after Democrats with big bucks, Obama chased the small fry. The two finished nearly tied in dollars raised, but Obama tapped over 100,000 donors, compared to Clinton’s 50,000.

The theory behind the push for so many small donors is that not only does it raise money, but it builds a grassroots network. Someone who usually does not contribute to campaigns but kicks in $25 feels a sense of investment in the candidate, and can often be conscripted into campaign work, from phone-banking to door-knocking.

California political watchers will recognize the strategy from the campaigns of Sen. Barbara Boxer, who made that a key part of her election fights. And since the donors aren’t even close to the federal limit of $2,300 per individual, campaigns can try to go back again with their palms open.

But as we noted, the tactic failed Dean. And broadening the base can bring unexpected twists. Obama recently raffled off a dinner with him in July with four donors gleaned from thousands who had submitted contributions of at least $5, as well as brief essays. Among the winners announced June 21: Del Ray Beach firefighter Jennifer Lasko, who wrote about her conversion from pro-military Reagan conservative to anti-war liberal. She omitted the detail, however, that she was John Lasko when that political transformation occurred. She offered to withdraw after the sex-change became public, but the Obama folks said come on ahead anyway.

You can already hear Ann Coulter on that one, can’t you?

-- Scott Martelle