The Obama Diary

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Friend -

Remember that deadline we kept emailing you about a couple weeks ago? Here’s what you should know about what we’ll report to the FEC tomorrow:

- In the third fundraising quarter of this year, 606,027 people donated to this campaign - even more than gave in the record-breaking previous quarter.

- Those people gave more than 766,000 total donations - 98 percent of them $250 or less, at an average amount of $56. That’s more than twice as many donations than we had at this point in the historic 2008 campaign.

- Together, Obama for America and the DNC raised more than $70 million. And it all happened during a summer when the President was focused on doing the job he was elected to do - a summer when we had to cancel a series of fundraising events and ask everyone to dig a little deeper.

If I could sum up this last quarter in a few words: Supporters like you came through.

Here’s even bigger news: Right now, 982,967 people have donated to this campaign. We’re within striking distance of 1 million donors.

…. Thanks for all you did to get us here. I’m excited for what’s ahead, and I hope you’ll take part in the push to 1 million grassroots donors today.

Match someone’s pledge, double your impact, and become part of the first million today:

Donate here

Thanks,

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

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President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak shake hands during their joint news conference in the East Room at the White House

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NYT Editorial: It was all predicted, but the unanimous decision by Senate Republicans on Tuesday to filibuster and thus kill President Obama’s jobs bill was still a breathtaking act of economic vandalism. There are 14 million people out of work, wages are falling, poverty is rising, and a second recession may be blowing in, but not a single Republican would even allow debate on a sound plan to cut middle-class taxes and increase public-works spending.

…. The Republicans offer no actual economic plans, only tired slogans about cutting regulations and spending, and ending health care reform…. Their lack of serious ideas was on full display in both the Senate and the presidential debate on Tuesday night in New Hampshire. The debate was ostensibly about the economy, but when the freshest and most-talked-about idea is Herman Cain’s ridiculous “9-9-9” tax plan, it is clear that the economy they were debating is not the one Americans are forced to live in…..

The other candidates were no less vacuous. Mitt Romney offered an ash heap of used ideas … Rick Perry, when he could be stirred to speak, vowed to somehow put 1.2 million people to work in the energy industry, as if the whole country were Texas and drills could pop up on every block.

Republican candidates fear the Tea Party too much to acknowledge that economists are solidly behind government intervention to awaken growth …. But at least the record is increasingly clear who is advocating real ideas and who is selling an empty vessel.

Full editorial here

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First Lady Michelle Obama and South Korea’s First Lady Kim Yoon-Ok arrive to watch a musical performance during a visit to Annandale High School

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Greg Sargent: The public really likes the Obama jobs policies that the GOP blocked: The internals of the NBC/WSJ poll are now up online. Check out this bit:

The jobs bill would cut the payroll tax rate, fund new road construction, continue to extend unemployment benefits, and give tax credits to companies who hire and train long-term unemployed workers. The plan would be paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthy and increasing taxes on businesses by closing some corporate tax loopholes. Do you favor or oppose this plan?

Favor 63

Oppose 32

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