Today, I have some exciting news to share about the phenomenal progress we've made. And I wanted you to hear it first.
I'm proud to tell you that, after the first quarter of the campaign, we've exceeded all of our hopes and expectations.
In less than three months, a staggering 100,000 Americans have contributed to our cause -- tens of thousands more than the number reported by any other campaign. Thats on top of the hundreds of thousands who have attended rallies, started groups and shared their ideas and energy.
It's been a truly historic response -- a measure of just how hungry people are to turn the page on this era of small and destructive politics and repair our American community.
And because of that extraordinary base of support, we were able to raise an astonishing $25 million -- $23.5 million of which can be used to help us in the upcoming primary contests.
What makes this achievement even more noteworthy is that we did it without taking any money from PACs or federal lobbyists. Instead, were counting on you; on folks across America who want to take their country back and steer us to a better course.
You've sent an unmistakable message to the political establishment in Washington about the power and seriousness of our challenge.
But for all the impressive numbers by which pundits will judge this campaign, we know that every step of our progress happens one person at a time.
One person sharing their story of why they decided to get involved in the political process, one volunteer deciding to have a conversation about the campaign with their neighbor, one donor owning a piece of this campaign for as little as $5.
I've been struck by how personal this campaign experience has been for so many of you.
You heard last week from Rashed, a veteran and father who made his first-ever donation to a political campaign because of his hopes for his daughter. This campaign is the story of hundreds of thousands of people like him -- people participating because they believe that politics can mean something again.
We've put together a small presentation about all we've accomplished together so far, and links to a few of the personal stories from people who donated to the campaign or hosted a community get-together this past weekend. You can see it here:
http://my.barackobama.com/wherewestand
I want to thank you for all that you have done so far. This milestone for our campaign proves something I learned as a community organizer long ago: that together a whole lot of ordinary people can achieve something extraordinary.
And we're only just getting started.
Thank you,
Barack Obama