Obama earnestly seeking out big-money donors whom we once criticized

Obama frequently points with pride to the role that smaller donors played in his 2008 election, when his campaign also openly discouraged spending by outside organizations. But now Obama finds himself seeking out the kind of big-money donations he has often criticized while encouraging independent groups to raise and spend unlimited money on his behalf.

Obama’s campaign manager-in-waiting, Jim Messina, has asked the party’s biggest supporters to raise $350,000 each this year, to be shared by Obama’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee, far higher than goals set during the 2008 cycle…

Democratic strategists say the aggressive fundraising goals are aimed in part at intimidating Republican rivals, who bested Democrats in overall political spending in 2010. The effort is expected to be bolstered by an outside group, now in the planning stages, headed by former White House aides Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, advisers said…

Yet the race is dogged by fears among supporters that Obama may not be able to match the historic fundraising juggernaut of 2008, when the candidate brought in nearly $750 million, much of it from small contributions solicited online. Some backers worry that a limping economy and disaffection among liberal activists and Wall Street donors could dampen Obama’s fundraising ability this time around.