Friend --

Outside groups are in the process of pouring more than $3.2 million into Iowa to support Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

A new group, run by John Edwards' former campaign manager, is spending nearly a million dollars of unregulated money to run a so-called "issue" ad in Iowa this week. The ad touts "the Edwards plan" and prominently features a smiling John Edwards -- but the group claims it isn't meant to promote one candidate or another.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton's friends from Washington are spending millions on attacks, including a mailing that misleads voters by falsely disparaging Barack's universal health care plan. The mailing carefully uses a quote from another candidate and mimics the design of that candidate's mailings -- apparently with the hope that Iowans offended by the negativity will think it came from someone else.

The case has never been clearer -- this kind of politics needs to end. And you have the power to end it.

Instead of benefiting from $3.2 million in money from big interests over the next week, we're asking 32,000 new supporters to give whatever they can afford. That will put us past our goal of 500,000 people owning a piece of this campaign before the Iowa caucuses.

Make your first online donation of $25 and be part of this historic moment. If you donate now, your impact will be doubled by a previous donor who has promised to match your gift:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

With just one week to go before the caucuses, our opponents have revealed their commitment to politics-as-usual. Money is pouring in from outside groups to fund negative mailings, TV ads, phone calls, and attack websites.

Barack has repeatedly spoken out against the work of these outside groups, and this campaign does not accept any money from Washington lobbyists or PACs.

Instead, we put our faith in you. From the beginning, this campaign has been funded by a grassroots movement of ordinary people giving only what they can afford.

And your commitment to real change has gotten us pretty far.

The most recent polls show Barack ahead in Iowa and New Hampshire, and we're building an unparalleled operation in the 22 states with primaries and caucuses on February 5th.

We are in a position to win this nomination, but we need to start strong in Iowa and keep the momentum building.

Make your first donation today, and a previous donor will match your gift:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

We've set a historic goal of 500,000 people owning a piece of this campaign by the Iowa caucuses on January 3rd. That's more people than have ever donated to a presidential campaign before voting started.

It's not an easy goal to achieve, but it will send a powerful message to the entrenched special interests.

Let them know that their outside money can't compete with a grassroots movement that's committed to a new kind of politics. And let them know that the days of big, unregulated Washington money are numbered.

The time for real change is now. Make a matched donation today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

Thank you for your support,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America