Ezra on Obama's fundraising advantage:
Obama's fundraising doesn't require Obama to do very much fundraising. Since January 1st, Clinton has attended more than a dozen fundraisers, while Bill Clinton has headlined more than 40. Obama and his wife have attended fewer than 10 over the period. That means he doesn't have to waste hours shaking hands with rich people or flying back-and-forth from California. That means he can spend all that time campaigning. It's a real advantage.
Actually, I think the advantage is even more significant than that. It's not just that it allows him to spend more time campaigning, it is also that it allows him to primarily interact with a different group of people. Fundraisers aren't made up of average people looking for better representation in their government; they are made up almost entirely of rich people who are seeking special access to their elected officials. The less a candidate has to interact with these people, and the less they are financially dependent on them, the less impact they will likely have down the road when this whole thing is over.
I'm not naive enough to think that Obama's new model of fundraising will eliminate the influence of big donors on our political system. But it is undeniably a big step in the right direction.
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