So how is Barack Obama’s fundraising going these days? His super-PAC has been a super flop, raising only $59,000 in January, which is not much more than Buddy Roemer raised for his quixotic presidential campaign in the same month. That means that Obama needs to rely more on his own campaign and his own fundraisers, which has brought a return of the Dinner with the Obamas Sweepstakes. Last summer the ticket price started at $5 donations to buy a chance, but then Obama added Joe Biden as a sweetener — and shortly afterward, the price dropped to $3.  Yesterday I got an e-mail from the Obama campaign with a pitch from Obama himself cutting the price yet again:

Friend —

Tomorrow night, we’ll pick the first of four supporters who will sit down with me for dinner. I’m hoping you’ll take me up on the invitation. Donate $2 or whatever you can today to be automatically entered for the chance to be my first dinner guest.

These meals are one simple thing that sets this campaign apart. The seats at our table don’t belong to any Washington lobbyist or powerful interest. These seats are yours. Donate $2 or more today and be automatically entered to win:

https://donate.barackobama.com/The-First-Guest

Hope to see you,

Barack

Obama’s been marked down!  In the retail business, an item that has been marked down this often sits on the clearance table because no one is buying it. This recalls a great scene from Ruthless People, as Bette Midler’s character hears from her kidnappers that they have lowered the ransom price multiple times because her husband won’t pay:

What happens when the campaign can’t sell Obama at the $2 price, either? We’ll turn to another classic comedy for advice:

Perhaps the next fundraising attempt will ask people to go through their clothes and look for loose change. Since the economy has been mostly dead for the entirety of Obama’s presidency, that would probably be the correct valuation.

Update: We may already be at the “loose change” threshold, according to the Washington Examiner, which reports that the new offer is now just one dollar.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!