Aug 18, 2008 4:32 pm US/Pacific
Obama Breaks Fundraising Record In SF
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ―
Barack Obama set a presidential fundraising record Sunday night in San Francisco, where he reassured nervous Democrats, who paid a pretty penny to meet him.
More than 18,000 donors helped Barack Obama raise a record-shattering $7.8 million in just three hours at the Fairmont Hotel.
Obama worked a room of South Asian supporters, by telling them he's their "homeboy," and that he's an expert at cooking dal because he had a Pakistani roommate in college. But not everyone was convinced.
"The American people want results. Talk is cheap for everyone. Time will only prove whether change is good or not," said Peter Shah, of Salinas, who paid $14,000 to meet Obama.
Obama also told Sunday night's dinner crowd he knows they're "nervous and skittish" about the close campaign, but they shouldn't stress out. He was just as reassuring earlier in the day at a town hall meeting in Reno, Nevada.
"Don't get fooled by Paris and Brittany, and nasty emails that folks are sending out," said Obama.
He told the Fairmont audience that America is still getting past his funny name, but with all that money he could be ready to unleash the greatest campaign the country's ever seen.
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