Mo Money...

It seems that this year of elections was very different than it has ever been before. First, it was the use of the internet as an outlet to reach a larger base of Americans. Another, was the fact that younger generation got very involved. But the most suprising thing is the amount of money that has been spent on this election. the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics say that the candidates this year will spend a record-breaking amount of $5.3 Billion Dollars. $5.3 Billion Dollars!!! That is a ridiculous amount of money spent. USA TODAY's Fredreka Schouten reports that:
The presidential race alone will cost $2.4 billion -- a number that is nearly double the gross domestic product of Belize but still less than Coca-Cola spent on advertising in 2006.

Candidates for the White House already have raised more than $1.5 billion, marking the first time that presidential fundraising has exceeded the $1 billion mark and has nearly doubled what presidential contenders raised four years ago.

"This election will blow through historic records," Sheila Krumholz, the group's executive director, told reporters on a conference call.

Other trends:

• Democrats, who have outraised Republicans throughout the election cycle, are on track to collect 59% of contributions.

• The top industries in terms of contributions to federal elections include lawyers and law firms ($180.9 million) and the securities and investment industry ($122.8 million).

• Issue-advocacy groups, known as 527s for the section of the tax code under which they operate, seem to be playing a smaller role in this election cycle than in years past. Such groups reported $424 million in fundraising to the IRS in 2007-08, a 12% decrease from the same time period in the 2004 election.

I dont know about you but, the American Economy is in a state of chaos. I think there could have been a way to minimize spending in this economic time.