Earlier today I made the first political contributions of my life (certainly not last). I gave a small amount to my two favorites for the '08 Democratic Primary:

$10.00 - Barack Obama
$10.00 - John Edwards

The first quarter fundraising deadline is approaching this weekend, and candidates are sending our a barrage of emails attempting to squeeze as much cash as possible out of their online supporters. I was originally just going to donate to Edwards, after I was deeply inspired my this campaign video. But, when I was that the Obama campaign has decided to only display the number of donations rather than cash amount raised, it convinced me to donate to them as well.

I'd like to point out that I chose to contribute just $10 for a reason. Of course I could have given much more, but what's important is that I made the donation not how much it was. The Obama camp understands that and that's why they're only displaying the number of donations, with the slogan: You Count. It's about people-powered politics, a movement born in the Dean campaign. In 2003-2004, Dean for America raised tens millions of dollars online from small donors. For the first time in American politics a major presidential campaign was funded not by corporate interests and the wealthy minority, but by average Americans who wanted to see real political change in their country. Dean realized that the only way to run a campaign that isn't beholden to special interests, is to run one financed by the people it aims to help. So: give early, give often, and give small.