Get To The Ask

With Hillary Clinton gaining a slight cash-on-hand advantage over his own campaign, Senator Barack Obama made an usually direct fundraising ask in an email and video that went out yesterday.

To everything (even hard-ask grassroots fundraising) there is a season, I guess. For Barack Obama, That season is here.

Now is when you see how deep the “permission asset” they’ve built runs.

Thinking on it…

His surprising lead in fundraising has been double-sided. It has allowed him to avoid hard asks like these that – while effective – also burn out your list.. So, his list has grown tremendously. It has also built trust with the Obama community. That’s a good thing.

But…

The success has also prohibited him from making hard asks like these, because the stakes aren’t there. It’s cost him urgency. So, in that way his lead has held him back. Hard asks – while burning your list a bit – do get results.

Now…

He has months of trust and permission and high stakes to make a real test of his list. This is where the rubber meets the road on if the grassroots and netroots can do it. If they fold on this ask, he’s in trouble. If they step up, look out.

John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have been very successful in turning attacks against them by the Right into urgent fundraising appeals. Hell, Ann Coulter is practically John Edwards’ best fundraiser. She should be getting a commission. Now, Obama has something other than an end-of-quarter deadline or promise of dinner to motivate his supporters. Last I checked, the effort was coming up on $1 million of the $2.1 million they are seeking to raise in this Close the Gap campaign.

Which begs the question, “If they were looking for $2.1 million, why didn’t they just hire Larry H. Parker?” From what I understand, he’s able to get people that kind of money.