Campaign Money

Campain money and fundraising have always been vital aspecst of elections that i have been interested in. These guys (and now girls) convince millions of Americans to donate anywhere from 5 to 2,0000 dollars in support of there campaign. Students, celebritites, and the elderly all open there check book during this time of year to donate money. If you visit the leading presidential candidates websites (McCain, Obama, Clinton) you are immediately directed to a front page that requests a donation. Once inside each of their respective sites it is hard not to notice the multiple links to donate money to their campaign. Barack Obama, i would argue, has stimulated his campaign through his unparalleled ability to raise money. By creating a base of small donors and raising the most money amongst the democrats, Barack has catapulted his campaign to the front and practically locked up the democratic presidential nomination. Obviously, campaign funding is key when it comes to running an election and winning an election. Without it you may as well just give up but, with it, even the lesser known candidate can stay in the race.
Furthermore, it is suprisingly easy to find out where there donors live, how much they donate, and who they are donating to. For instance, i was googling one of my professors the other day because i was interested in one of the movies he was writing (he is a screenwriter). However, after entering his name i was prompted to a site that showed the city and zip code in which he lived (Irvine), how much he donated ($200), and who he donated to (Clinton). It was scary the details i was able to recieve from just googling somebody's name. It almost makes me want to donate just to put my name on the map and feel as if i did something for the canditate that i support.
As i browsed latimes.com i noticed something that was directly related to the article that i currently write. On their campaign '08 page they have a section where you can enter your zipcode and it lets you know how much money has been donated from residents of that zipcode (called the "socal presidential money tracker"). It also lets you know what percentage of that money went to each particular candidate.
For the city in which i live, Aliso Viejo, there was a total of $57,526 donated with the majority (26.5%) going to Giuliani, 20% to romney, and 14.4% to Old Man McCain. Thats conservative Orange County for you.
A video for your viewing pleasure on campaign funding: