With both the RNC and DNC behind us, Romney and Obama launch into the next phases of their campaigns. The RNC was important for Romney because unlike Obama, who has been in office for four years, Romney must fully convey the plans and positions he would take on as President. However this was Obama’s opportunity to rekindle the passion and excitement that he had in the 2008 elections, and re-engage his audience.
According to the Gallup daily tracking poll, Obama managed to do just that. Huffington Post says, “Gallup's last three nights of interviewing of adults, conducted Sept. 4 to 6, shows Obama with a 52 percent approval rating, the highest approval percentage reported for Obama on the Gallup tracking poll since May 2011, just after the killing of Osama bin Laden.” Polls released on Friday September 7th, after days of speeches from a number of people including Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and Julian Castro advocating for Obama’s reelection, show Obama with a 3 point lead over Mitt Romney. At this point, every vote counts.
According to the Gallup daily tracking poll, Obama managed to do just that. Huffington Post says, “Gallup's last three nights of interviewing of adults, conducted Sept. 4 to 6, shows Obama with a 52 percent approval rating, the highest approval percentage reported for Obama on the Gallup tracking poll since May 2011, just after the killing of Osama bin Laden.” Polls released on Friday September 7th, after days of speeches from a number of people including Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and Julian Castro advocating for Obama’s reelection, show Obama with a 3 point lead over Mitt Romney. At this point, every vote counts.
But the DNC was not just important to excite voters to go to the polls in November. The DNC was also Obama’s opportunity to raise more money, something he has been struggling with in his campaign thus far. Obama’s campaign announced on Monday that Obama raised $114 million this month, in comparison to last month’s $76 million. In contrast, Romney only got $112 million after the RNC. Unlike Romney, who is relying on a smaller amount of large donors, Obama’s campaign focuses on getting a large amount of small individual donations. This tactic can prove to be successful as November approaches. Since there is a limit on how much an individual can donate, Romney has tapped out many of his larger supporters, while Obama can go back to his 3.2 million donor base and ask for more.
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| Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president. Daily results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,500 national adults; Margin of error is ±3 percentage points. |
But despite the surge in support and money, will this be enough to help Obama win the elections? At this point in the campaign, how much will money help him get the votes he needs?
4 comments:
I think that Obama's focus on individual donation's is a very effective tactic. With his popularity surge after the DNC, he is getting the money he needs right when he needs it most. Despite this extra money, I don't think it will have a massive effect on the election. The Washington Post article mentions that although Obama has raised less money than Romney, Obama has still outspent Romney by over a hundred million dollars. Even if Obama does continue raising more money than Romney, I don't think it will make a significant impact on the election since Romney and the RNC have a lot of extra money saved up which can be spent if necessary.
With the conclusion of the DNC and RNC, and the elections fast approaching, things like raising money have a greater impact on the votes of Americans. The majority of the public is focusing more on the current amount of revenue being raised, not at the amount Romney or Obama have saved. Thus, I believe Obama's greater amount of money made will have an impact on the election. Since they will occur in a little less than a month, Romney needs to devise a more efficient method of collecting money. Most Americans want to vote for the president who is most skilled in raising capital. Though this is not enough to give Obama a clear victory in the elections, it does help, as seen in the increased approval rating. If Obama continues to raise more revenue than Romney, he will have an even greater chance of reelection.
I think it is relevant to note that although Obama's official campaign fund has raised more money in this last month, this is just counting the amount of money raised/spent by Obama and Romney's actual campaign funds. If you look at the amount of money raised by PAC groups both supporting Romney and opposing Obama, Obama has been far out-raised and outspent.
http://projects.wsj.com/super-pacs/
The fact that Obama's 114 million is considered a surge in donation, yet remains only 2 million more than Romney's amount of donations only emphasizes how out-funded Obama has been. While I believe that money is essential to a campaign for presidency, however, I also believe that it is relevant to note the relationship of approval ratings as compared to campaign funds. While Obama has clearly been out-raised and outspent by Romney, his approval rating remains higher than Romney's rating. So while I believe a dramatic change in amount of money raised/spent for the Obama administration is helpful, I don't think one can quantify amount of money to votes. Rather, I think that more focus on the quality ways Obama uses that money is more beneficial, because clearly, some aspect of his policy or methodology with less money has led him to the top of the approval ratings.
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