President B.O. was airborne Monday morning, winging his way aboard Air Force One to six fundraisers in Nevada and Caliphornia over the next two days.Obama is at the nadir of his popularity but that doesn't mean his fundraising will be lagging. On the contrary, members of Obama's finance team say he will meet and probably exceed all fundraising goals, continuing to place him far ahead of any GOP rival. That's because for incumbent presidents, there is little correlation between popularity and fundraising.
Donors are a small percentage of the electorate and they often are a candidate's most loyal backers, getting fired up when their man (or woman) is under attack. Donors to an incumbent president also include what we at the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau call "investors" -- donors who make contributions as a very practical way of protecting their financial interests. It makes sense to back an administration that can still help or hurt with government-related decisions, grants and projects.
Like Obama, former President George W. Bush continued to do well financially when he was at the lowest points in his popularity during his second term.
And incumbent presidents at this point in a reelection race have another advantage over all other candidates: Obama faces no primary fight and can raise money beyond his traditional campaign account by fundraising for the national political party, which is allowed to accept contributions in larger amounts. It's a big advantage in the traditional world of candidate fundraising.
For example, GOP presidential prospects can charge attendees only the maximum contribution that the Federal Election Commission allows individuals to contribute to an official candidate. The FEC has limited such contributions to $2,500 for the primary campaign and $2,500 for the general election. But an incumbent president can charge far more by raising additional funds through an account that is linked with the national party committee.
With the GOP nomination still looming, there is no settled Republican candidate to raise those big contributions on behalf of the national party committee.