Dear Barack,

I'm really confused by your letter below saying that your campaign is funded by the people:
(It appears that the 300 Goldman Sachs partners/agents are really just people like you and I.)

I contributed $100 and Goldman contributed $653,030. Something seems wrong with this system.

Was the election system designed by the advertisers and media corporations to maximize profits?

Where did my $100 go?

Top Contributors To Obama

This table lists the top donors to this candidate in the 2008 election cycle. The organizations themselves did not donate , rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Because of contribution limits, organizations that bundle together many individual contributions are often among the top donors to presidential candidates. These contributions can come from the organization's members or employees (and their families). The organization may support one candidate, or hedge its bets by supporting multiple candidates. Groups with national networks of donors - like EMILY's List and Club for Growth - make for particularly big bundlers.

Goldman Sachs	$653,030
University of California	$576,839
JPMorgan Chase & Co	$414,760
Citigroup Inc	$408,299
Harvard University	$407,219
Google Inc	$404,191
UBS AG	$389,294
Lehman Brothers	$361,482
National Amusements Inc	$360,703
Moveon.org	$347,463
Sidley Austin LLP	$329,776
Microsoft Corp	$326,847
Skadden, Arps et al	$320,550
Morgan Stanley	$307,221
Time Warner	$305,538
WilmerHale	$275,132
Jones Day	$272,755
Latham & Watkins	$270,595
University of Chicago	$268,285
Stanford University	$258,388

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Obama for America <info@barackobama.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Subject: Deadline: Tomorrow
To: the people of the world

dear people --

Over the last week this race has been transformed.

Barack named Joe Biden as his running mate, and they accepted the Democratic nomination at our historic open convention in Denver.

Our team is complete, and our movement is growing rapidly. But now we are facing our first major challenge together.

The August financial reporting deadline is tomorrow at midnight, and we have an opportunity to show that a campaign funded by ordinary people can go toe-to-toe with the Washington lobbyists and special interests lined up behind John McCain and the Republican Party.

Make a donation of $25 or more before midnight tomorrow, and you'll receive a first edition Obama-Biden coffee mug.

Get one of the first Obama-Biden coffee mugs

Thanks,

Obama for America

P.S. -- The deadline is midnight tomorrow, August 31st. Make your online donation now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/mug08