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In more ways than one.

Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign announced his fundraising tally for the first quarter of 2007 and it is beyond an assault on perceived Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. It is a definitive sign that he is now on top of the heap.

Clinton earlier announced a fundraising take of $26 million, but that total has quickly in its value as questions build about how much of those funds are related to the

General Election campaign and how much is for the Primary. Clinton campaign chair Terry McAuliffe has been mum about the General vs. Primary break-out and given the Clinton camp’s usual inability to keep good news quiet, it’s hard to fathom that all of that money is for the primaries. Additionally, it was Clinton who opened the floodgates on the potential for raising General Election funds now so one can only assume that a good portion of her money is not available until after her nomination is secured.

In comparison, Obama’s numbers include:

• $6.9 million in online contributions from more than 50,000 donors
• A total of at least $25 million raised from over 100,000 donors
• Of that $25 million amount, more than $23.5 million will be available for the primary election

NEWS FLASH…

Obama is now the frontrunner. After the dust clears, he will have more primary money, more donors (of whom the majority are low dollar givers which can serve as an ongoing cash source), and a more engaging personality for the campaign ahead.

It will be interesting to see how Clinton responds.