For $310 A Week, You Can House and Feed a Richardson Campaign Volunteer

I just waved goodbye to the third vanload of volunteers leaving Albuquerque for Iowa today. Tomorrow we're sending more people to New Hampshire. They are all part of the plan we finalized over the weekend. I don't know how much you paid attention over the holiday, but things have changed a lot since last Wednesday. The race is flattening out. The poll numbers are in flux. And the only candidate who has gained consistently in all polls is Bill Richardson. We're ramping up aggressively to pick up that momentum but we need $50,000 between now and Friday to cover the additional costs of shipping out the volunteers. Help us with $50, $100 or even $250 and watch the poll numbers move even more.

The Nation put it this way: "The action is with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson."

"If the pattern holds, the New Mexican will easily overtake Edwards and could begin closing in on Obama by the time New Hampshire holds its first in the nation primary. It is worth noting that, according to the polls, Richardson is now viewed as more experienced than either Obama or Edwards by the New Hampshire voters. His numbers are dramatically up in other categories, as well, especially on measures of trust -- the New Mexican now leads Clinton in this category. Richardson's move into double digits in New Hampshire parallels his under-covered rise in the first caucus state of Iowa. While much of the discussion about recent polls from that state has focused on the news that Obama has moved narrowly ahead of Clinton -- they are actually in a statistical tie -- some of the most interesting movement in the first-caucus state has been toward Richardson."

Believe it, XYZ. Momentum like this can turn into a juggernaut with the right kind of push. We're already ahead of where Kerry was in 2004 -- and we're still moving up. We're launching strong new ads in Iowa and New Hampshire. Every time we've run new spots, our poll numbers have moved up. And we have every reason to expect it to happen again. All of this will cost an additional $250,000. And we only have four days to raise it. Your $50, $100 or $250 makes a real difference in our ability to match the Clinton and Obama media machines.

Let me put it in perspective. Every one of these volunteers costs us $310 per week to house and feed. But that person is going to knock on hundreds of doors, distribute 1,000 pieces of literature, and talk to 2,500 voters. And with the $200,000 in new ads, some 50,000 more voters will hear our message. You know that if we nominate the wrong Democrat, they're going to Swift Boat us all over again. And that means another George Bush in the White House. Only strong action by determined Democrats can change that outcome. I just got a phone call that one of our buses broke down just south of Wichita. I'm going to tell them that help is on the way.