Barack Obama: 200 People Can Elect President
on Friday, July 11, 2014Barack Obama Money Quotation saying Super PACs Funded by fewer than 200 Americans have potential to determine who runs for President and then fund their campaign. Barack Obama said:
“You now have the potential of 200 people deciding who ends up being elected president every single time” — Barack Obama
In this quote, former President Barack Obama seems to be commenting on the impact of large political donations and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few influential donors.
By stating that “200 people” now have the potential to decide presidential elections, Obama appears to believe a small number of very wealthy individuals are able to wield outsized influence over who wins such contests through the immense financial contributions they provide.
The quote conveys Obama’s view that modern elections have effectively given a small donor class the ability to shape outcomes due to the vast sums of dark money that now dominate campaign financing.
He seems to believe US democracy has been compromised by an election system where just a few hundred top donors can largely determine a presidential race through the financial leverage their donations provide.