Obama Catches Fire with the Netroots.

Total 2007 primary dollars raised: $55.7 million.

Total 2007 number of individual donors: 258,000.

In a word, Barack Obama's second-quarter fundraising numbers are shattering. There never has been anything like it. For a guy who was in the Illinois Senate three years ago not only to be in the top tier of his party's fundraising but to have raised the most of any candidate in a quarter is mind-boggling.

One thing Obama's success does speak to is the maturation of the "netroots": If you have an incredible story and a compelling case to be made, you can catch fire among the political activists in the blogosphere. It's not always about a thick Rolodex and an institutional operation. A fantastic chapter in politics has not been written about the netroots movement -- and that is, how does a candidate cross the threshold of being presidential while maintaining the cause that enabled him to catch fire?

Can that chapter be written now?

Has the blogosphere moved past puberty and matured enough to propel a candidate into the Oval Office? Certainly the importance of the blogosphere has increased exponentially since it first weighed in during the 2004 presidential election.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/obama_catches_fire_with_netroo.html

He is raising a lot but his lack of experience and not-so-sharp debate performances and campaign style (he is bad at sound bites) are costing him support in the polls against Hillary.