And the public wonders what the President does between basketball games, White House parties, vacations and rounds of golf.
Barack Obama had a choice. He could work with the Congress to try and run the country with efficiency and principle. Or he could play games, ignore the people, criticize the Congress and be serious only about running for re-election. Shamefully, he opted for the latter course.
But he's amassed quite a treasure chest to get it done.
Obama's fundraising has more than paid off. The president has raised nearly $90 million so far—but with a significant 46 percent of it from small donors—for his reelection effort, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The next highest fundraiser in the 2012 presidential field is Republican Mitt Romney, who has raked in $32.2 million.
Obama's pace exceeds his own fundraising in the early stages of his first presidential run, in 2007. Through September 30, 2007, Obama had raised $80 million; this time around, that figure was $88 million through September 30. As the president, he does have the full backing and fundraising muscle of the Democratic National Committee, which is scouring the country for every dollar and every volunteer it can find to power Obama through what's shaping up to be one of the most bruising, cash-drenched campaigns in history.
If you're a Republican, you can start worrying. For not only does Barack Obama have the bully pulpit of the presidency and the fawning favor of the media, he's got an awfully big amount of cash.
