(p. A16) An analysis of President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign fund-raising punctures one of the most enduring pieces of conventional wisdom from his presidential run: that small donors powered his record-breaking money machine.
. . .
The institute found that while nearly half of Mr. Obama’s donations came in individual contributions of $200 or less, in reality, only 26 percent of the money he collected through Aug. 31 during the primary and 24 percent of his money through Oct. 15 came from contributors whose total donations added up to $200 or less. The data is the most recent available.
For the whole story, see:
MICHAEL LUO. “FUND-RAISING; The Myth of the Small Donor.” The New York Times (Tues., November 25, 2008): A16.
(Note: ellipsis added.)