I think Barack Obama’s getting a little more pugnacious in his messages to his mailing list:
Last night each of the presidential campaigns reported their third-quarter fundraising numbers.
The results are clear. We continue to build the largest grassroots movement in history, but Washington lobbyists and special interests rallied to help Hillary Clinton out-raise us for the first time.
If we want real change in this country, then we need to prove that together we are stronger than the lobbyist-driven money machine that has dominated Washington for too long.
The situation here is simple. We are $2.1 million behind. We must close that gap right now. I need you to make a donation of $25…
Hillary Clinton aggressively seeks money from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. She’s even said that these lobbyists represent real Americans.
She’s wrong.
When Obama made his odd I-refuse-to-wear-the-flag-pin-because-of-the-Iraq-war stance, I began to wonder if he really wanted the job. (Maybe there’s some intellectual, theoretical case to be made for refusing to wear the flag pin, but that stand, done clumsily, concedes the flag to Iraq war supporters and is too easily interpreted as having a beef with open expressions of patriotism.) One gets the feeling that for the last few weeks, Obama has been facing a decision of running the kind of campaign that matches his high-minded style and ideals, or running the kind of campaign that, you know, wins. Maybe this message is the first sign he’s chosen the latter.