$1 billion

[MRM]

That is the amount Obama hopes to raise for his re-election campaign that is finally underway. Now, Obama can do what he does best - campaign.

Two sources tell CNN the campaign team hopes that in total its bundlers will raise $500 million, leaving the campaign to raise another $500 million and amass a record-breaking $1 billion war chest.

I don't care which side of the fence you are on, needing this kind of money just to get elected is absurd considering how many people are still out of work, struggling to get by, or just barely getting by. This shows how out of touch Obama and many politicians are.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/04/obama.re.election.launch/index.html?hpt=T2#

[Jeremy Roenick]

It's called inflation MRM. It's not that it takes any more to get elected.  It's just a US dollar that's worth a lot less.  See my post in the other thread "composting the middle class".  Zero Hedge crunches some numbers and finds that there is a direct parallel between how much it costs to run for President these days vs. silver indexed to the USD over the last 15 years. 

[NCVol]

More than anything, this is the consequence of Citizens United.  It started with the midterms when no names were instantly funded with millions in outside money - anonymous of course.

We spend 3,600 billion at the Federal level, per year.  What's ONE of those billion to corporate America to get a friendly guy in the WH, AND their lackeys in all the key regulatory posts and cabinet?  They are sitting on thousands of billions in cash as we speak.  What "investment" provides returns like buying a President or a few key congressmen? 

[Just Win]

Incredible! To tell you the truth MRM, I don't think the guy has ever stopped campaigning since the 2008 election ended. He has coninured in campaign mode after he won the election in 2008. Three things he has shown a great acumen for. Campaigning, taking vacations, and community organizing. He is outstanding at all three. This is simply an indicator that RINOS and Libs will do  anything necessary  to get reelected. Things are broken in DC. We all know this much. This money bragging he says he can get from Soros, Buffet, Immelt at GE...is all bluster to scare Hillary from giving it the old college try in 2012.

If Hillary Clinton's primary voters and President Obama had their relationship status listed on their Facebook pages, it would change from “Married” to “It's complicated.”

To be fair, Hillary voters never fell in love with Obama, they just fell in line. Their relationship is less like a Julia Roberts chick flick and more like a Bengali arranged marriage.   

Because of their arrangement, Hillary-loving Obama voters are quick to jump ship whenever Mr. Hope-and-Change looks like he's getting played again by his political opponents, is in over his head or is dissing their girl.

Despite Obama's anti-climactic campaign announcement just now, according to all the recent polls, Hillary voters aren't only jumping ship –- they're taking their fins, snorkels and pina coladas with them.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows President Obama's approval rating at....

...a pathetic 42% –- down four points from early March. The American public isn't impressed with his handling of the crisis in Libya either -– with 47% of the public against the war and 58% of registered voters saying the president has not clearly stated U.S. goals for the mission

These numbers are bad –- really bad –- CNN prime time ratings bad.
To put them into context, according to Gallup, 76% of Americans supported military action against Iraq in 2003, 90% gave the A-OK for strikes against Afghanistan in 2001, and 65% approved of putting boots on the ground in Somalia in 1993.