Obama's Grassroots Army Ponders Next Move

Almost looks like he's running for something...

(NEWSER) - Howard Dean’s return to the national stage with stinging criticism of the compromises Democratic leaders accepted on health care reform has thrilled disaffected progressives—and even sparked talk of another run for president. One liberal blogger says his dusted-off bona fides make Dean “perfectly positioned” to challenge Obama in 2012. While many think that strains credulity, Politico reports, he appears to be preparing for something. More»

(NEWSER) - One of Barack Obama's top advisers during the campaign tells Politico he's "losing patience" with the White House and wants more "bold" leadership from the president on a host of issues including health care and gay rights. “I’m not going to just sit by the curb and let these folks get away with a lack of performance for the American people,” says Steve Hildebrand, the campaign's deputy manager who helped engineer key wins in Iowa and South Carolina. More»

Dems use town hall protests to fire back

(NEWSER) - In a new online ad, Democrats return fire at “angry mobs” driven by the Republican Party, the Huffington Post reports. “They lost the election. They lost on the Recovery Act, the budget and children’s health care,” says the ad. “Now, desperate Republicans and their well-funded allies are organizing angry mobs. Their goal? Destroy President Obama and stop the change Americans voted for overwhelmingly in November.” More»

That's more than double the proportion from 2007: analysis

(NEWSER) - President Obama continues to be successful raising money through small donations—and this time around, he's outpacing his campaign from four years ago. Last year, almost half of the money raised by the president's re-election campaign came from donors who gave $200 or less in total, a new report from the Campaign Finance Institute shows. In 2007, by comparison, just 22% of the $96.7 million he raised came from donations of $200 or less. In total, Obama raised $56.7 million from small donors last year, compared to the $38.1 million small donors contributed to all of his Republican opponents combined. More»

Obama, DNC pulling in more cash ... even from firm Romney founded

(NEWSER) - Despite his moves to tighten regulation of the financial sector, President Obama has more Wall Street money in his war chest than all of the Republican hopefuls combined, the Washington Post finds. Obama's campaign has received $3.9 million in donations from employees of financial firms, compared with $7.5 million for Mitt Romney. But as president, Obama can also include Democratic National Committee donations, which brings his total up to $11.7 million. Rick Perry has received $2 million from financial workers, Jon Huntsman $401,000, Ron Paul $289,000, and Herman Cain only $129,000. More»