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Aug 6, 2008 11:32 pm US/Central
Supporters Write Big Checks For Obama Fundraiser
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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During a fundraiser at the Hilton in Minneapolis on Aug. 6, presidential candidate Barack Obama said he supports limited offshore drilling as well as incentives for alternative fuels.
CBS
At a dinner on Wednesday night, Minnesotans helped presidential candidate Barack Obama raise more than $1.5 million for his campaign.
Fifty people spent $28,500 to have dinner with Obama. Three hundred others spent at least $1,000 to attend a reception with the senator. The campaign did not disclose how many people spent $5,000 to have their picture taken with Obama.
Supporters say the big checks they wrote to Obama are worth it. Dean Phillips, the president of Phillips Distillery, and his wife went to the dinner and their two daughters got the photo op.
"The past eight years haven't been totally impressive from most of our perspectives and this is something that I hope will make a big difference in our future and most importantly theirs," said Dean Phillips.
In an interview with local reporters, Obama defended his recent change of position on offshore oil drilling.
"The notion that I've been flip-flopping on energy policy is a little hard to fathom given that John McCain, who was completely opposed to offshore drilling, is now completely for offshore drilling with almost no limitations," Obama said.
Obama said he supports limited offshore drilling as well as incentives for alternative fuels. Earlier in the evening, outside the event at the Minneapolis Hilton, Republican protesters handed out tire gauges in an effort to suggest that Obama's energy policy was limited to checking your tires.
Obama said that is merely one of his recommendations for saving fuel.
"Proper tire inflation is something we individually can do. If we all did that we could save 3 to 4 percent of energy use. And John McCain's acknowledged it," Obama said.
Since the system of publicly financing presidential campaigns was put in place in the 1970s, Obama is the first presidential candidate to say no to public financing. That leaves him free to raise and spend as much money as he can in the general election.
"This is going to give him the ability to run many more ads in many more markets, and put many more feet on the ground in terms of setting up campaign offices. This is a huge advantage for Barack Obama," said political analyst Larry Jacobs.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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