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Half an hour into tonight’s press conference Barack Obama has answered a grand total of three questions.  This is not a good performance.  He really needs to pick up the pace and make his answers crisper and more comprehensible.

UPDATE: Aside from the rambling nature of his replies, I don’t think Obama has been good on substance either.  His opening statement had a little bit of good stuff about healthcare security, but he’s spent the vast bulk of his time on deficits and cost cutting.  That’s just not a good sales job.

UPDATE 2: All done.  I’m curious to hear what other people thought, but this really struck me as nowhere near his usual performance.  Obama avoided giving direct answers, rambled a lot, kept interrupting himself with asides, and didn’t explain things in terms that ordinary viewers were likely to understand.  He’s supposed to be the communicator-in-chief, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people came away more confused than they were when they tuned in.  Bottom line: There were bits and pieces that were fine, but overall I’d give it a C-.  Other comments?

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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