September brought great tidings for President Barack Obama and his campaign, as a report released by Democrats Saturday revealed the president raised $181 million in campaign funds last month. This figure comes just days after the government reported a drop in the unemployment rate to 7.8 percent, falling below 8 percent for the first time in 43 months. Obama received poor reviews after October’s first debate, but the unemployment news and fundraising boost could what the president needs to recapture momentum from Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
The $181 million the Obama campaign took in approaches their record of $190 million in a single month, which also came in September during the 2008 campaign. No doubt the high September figure is a result of the Democratic National Convention, one of the high points of Obama’s 2012 campaign. Though the recession was said to have passed some time ago, consistently high unemployment rates have plagued the Obama administration for years, and the creation of jobs has been a central point of Romney’s platform. Even after the report, Republicans remain critical of Obama’s performance.
“This is not what a real recovery looks like,” Romney said of the report. “We created fewer jobs in September than in August, and fewer jobs in August than in July, and we’ve lost over 600,000 manufacturing jobs since President Obama took office.”
The GOP presidential candidate has been campaigning in Florida in an attempt to capitalize on his post-debate momentum. Even with the election just a month away, Obama took time off to celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary with first lady Michelle. Their date had been postponed, as the first debate coincided with their actual anniversary. Both candidates will be preparing for the next debate, which will take place in Hempstead, NY, at Hofstra University on October 16.
