Obama made over $500m online

2008-11-21 14:05

Washington - Barack Obama raised half a billion dollars online in his 21-month campaign to become US president, the Washington Post reports.

According to the report, three million donors made 6.5 million donations online which added up to over $500m. The average online donation was $80, and the average donor gave more than once.

In an earlier report, Simon Rosenberg, a veteran of former president Bill Clinton's 1992 election campaign, said Obama's internet-savvy campaign team will revolutionise White House communications like late president Franklin Roosevelt did with the radio.

Obama ran the first true campaign of the 21st Century using internet tools to help organise his supporters and fight on a new battlefield of modern politics, Rosenberg said.

Obama's team is also staying in touch with his internet legions and mobilising them for the future, AFP reports.

On Wednesday his team submitted a detailed online survey by e-mail to millions of supporters asking for their feedback to "help shape the future of this movement".

"Share your campaign experience and your thoughts on the best way to keep supporting our agenda for change," said the e-mail from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Change.gov, the official website of the Obama transition team, also invites users to "share your story and your ideas, and be part of bringing positive lasting change to this country".

John Podesta, the co-chair of the Obama transition team, said that change.gov would be "a source of information, as well as a place to participate in the decisions being made about your government".

- News24