Obama gets most support from the troops

Obama beats McCain in troops' donations (AJC)
By William Bardenwerper
New York Times
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Washington —- Republicans may not be able to count on the military vote in 2008, according to a report issued by the Center for Responsive Politics, which shows that troops overseas have donated more than six times as much to Sen. Barack Obama as to Sen. John McCain.

Obama has raised $60,642 to McCain's $10,665 among this group, said the nonpartisan center, which examined information required by the Federal Election Commission for contributions over $200.

This gap represents a shift from recent history. President Bush beat Vice President Al Gore in military contributions by a ratio of almost 2-to-1 in 2000, and he collected more than $1.50 for every dollar raised by Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Bucking these trends, Obama has so far raised a total of $335,536 among all military personnel, compared with $280,513 for McCain.

While the slightly fewer than 3,000 donors represents a fraction of the entire military, it is revealing, said Larry J. Sabato, a professor at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

"In any professional universe only a small percentage gives to presidential candidates," Sabato said, adding that he was surprised by the number of military personnel who did make contributions.

"If it's a close election like in 2000 or 2004, the military vote could make a big difference in toss-up states," he said, even though the military is a small percentage of registered voters.

Michael Goldfarb, a McCain spokesman, said in a statement that "we feel confident that many U.S. troops stationed overseas will support John McCain in the election this fall.

"We suspect most are too busy doing the important work of defending this country to make political contributions," Goldfarb said.

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Jim Nichols
A Speculative Fiction
www.JimNichols4.com