During the 2006 campaign season, President Bush was seen as a drag on Republican candidates. With his approval rating hovering in the low forties, it was considered politically risky to be seen with the president.
Despite that, in October of 2006, Bush wasn’t so unpopular that candidates were unwilling to be seen with him.
The Los Angeles Times reported on October 1, 2006 that he the “Fundraiser in Chief” was still in demand.
Bush will spend more time campaigning for GOP candidates in these weeks before election day, aides said. The White House continues to receive more requests for Bush’s time as a campaigner than he can meet, said Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino. “Supply is not keeping up with demand,” she said.
The National Journal reported that in October and November alone, Bush traveled to 18 states and went to public rallies with candidates in ten states.
The GOP went on to get creamed in the 2006 mid term elections – which is perhaps why the Dem strategy this year is to treat the even more unpopular President Obama as persona non grata.
Yesterday ABC made the stunning admission that Obama has been to ZERO campaign events for Democrats, this year.
Just three weeks to go until the midterm elections and with control of the Senate hanging in the balance, candidates are scrambling toward the finish line.
One key figure, however, has been largely absent: President Obama.
President Obama has appeared at zero public campaign events this cycle, opting instead to tap into his fundraising prowess to boost Democratic candidates behind closed-doors.
The media often chided Bush for being the “Fundraiser-in-Chief,” but on that score, Obama blows him out of the water. According to the National Journal, Bush raked in a total of $182 million with about 50 fundraisers by October of 2006.
Obama, on the other hand, had done 85 fundraisers by September 23 of this year.
Bush averaged approximately $3.6 million per event. At that average, Obama would have brought in about $309 million to the party so far during this cycle.
But Obama is so toxic, the DSCC doesn’t even want to reveal how much money he’s raised for Democrats, this cycle.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Democratic committees overall have raised about $365 million this cycle. But trying to ballpark Obama’s contribution is purely guesswork. For one thing, the maximum amount a donor can give to a party committee is now some $5,700 higher than it was in 2006. For another, there are huge variations in admission prices at fundraisers Obama attends. (Tickets for DNC events can run between $1,000 and $32,400, for example.) Obama has also done events for Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC dedicated to helping Democratic Senate candidates.
The bottom line is that no one, beyond Democratic Party accountants, knows for sure. “It is impossible to know how much money was raised at a particular event,” says Meredith McGehee, policy director of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit that analyzes campaign finance laws. “There really are no tracks in the snow.”
Chalk another one up for the party of integrity and transparency.
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