According to figures provided to the Los Angeles Times, President George W. Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry have received money from 700,000 more contributors than the entire 2000 presidential election. This has lead to the development of huge “war chests” for each candidate.

This year's presidential campaign is set to break the $1 billion mark for the first time ever as primary candidates and third party groups continue to receive funds from voter donations. The extensive amount of money is being donated by over a million individuals, experts say, and is allowing candidates to re-circulate dollars through large media and analytical spending.

According to figures provided to the Los Angeles Times, President George W. Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry have received money from 700,000 more contributors than the entire 2000 presidential election. This has lead to the development of huge "war chests" for each candidate. A total exceeding more than $400 million has been raised thus far between President Bush and his opponent, John Kerry. This translates to approximately more than double the amount of money that was raised by this point in the election four years ago. Experts are estimating that, by the end of the campaign, after all the money is spent by the numerous amounts of political parties - state party organizations, independent groups, conventions, and the primary candidates, George W. Bush and John Kerry - the total amount of money accumulated for this year's election will be valued at $1 billion or more.

Richard Katz, a political science professor at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, does not seem surprised by the extensive amount of money that is expected to be raised and spent in this year's election process and attributes such a high number to economic characteristics such as inflation.

"I'm not surprised that this election is involving so much money," he said. "Candidates can always use more money and they have become very good at raising it. You have to take things like inflation into the picture, however."

Dr. Lynn Eckert, a political science professor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, agrees with Katz and also believes that the money associated with the election process represents what is wrong with the system.

"There is no question that it is a huge sum of money but you have to look at why there is so much money involved," she said. "The candidates are able to fund raise so well because they are well connected - Kerry because of the Senate, and Bush because of the Presidency - and they are able to get well connected people and political insiders to help."

There do exist reasons other than connections and inflation rates that are contributing to the generation of such massive political funding, however. For the 2004 election, the individual contribution limit was increased from $1,000 to $2,000, which led to instant increases in funding, and new and easier ways of donating money have been established over the internet for contributors.

"With the internet, people are able to sign on any time of the day and access the site to donate," said Eckert.

Also, with the majority of the country divided between Republican and Democrat, voters feel that it is necessary to help their party in what is proving to be a very close presidential race.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told the media "It's the perfect political storm for fundraising."

There have been some new policies issued that do impede on exactly how much money can be received from donations. The McCain-Feingold legislation, which was approved two years ago, places a ban on unlimited contribution, know as soft money, from organizations such as unions and corporations, as well as, individuals. However, the Republican and Democratic national committees have raised approximately $230 million so far. This is already more than the amount of money raised in the 2000 presidential election before the McCain-Feingold legislation was instituted and soft money was still allowed

Having a large budget is one thing, but what exactly do the candidates and their parties plan on doing with all the money that they are expected to accumulate by the end of the elections in November?

The money that has been donated is expected to be spent on a number of campaign aspects including television advertisements, voter mobilization drives, conducting polls, and fees for analysts and strategists on both sides. In fact, both candidates have already begun to unload some of the record amount of funds.

John Kerry, as of Tuesday, May 4, has begun a $25 million advertisement campaign entitled "a lifetime of service and strength". The campaign involves two television commercials focusing on Kerry's political career thus far and his experience in Vietnam during the war. The ads are cited to be about 60 seconds in length and will be aired in media markets in Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, West Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, Washington, Ohio, Louisiana, and Colorado and also on national cable channels as well.

The first of the two adds, entitled "Heart", includes old photographs of the Democratic candidates father and mother standing next to a plane with their son as well as other old Vietnam pictures of Kerry with his military buddies. The ad also includes pictures of Kerry in army fatigues and is accompanied by dialogue from his wife, daughter, fellow Vietnam veterans, and Kerry himself.

"I thought it was important if you had a lot of privileges as I had had, to go to a great university like Yale, to give something back to your country," explains Kerry in the opening dialogue of the ad.

Kerry's daughter, Vanessa Kerry, is also featured in the article.

"If you look at my father's time in service to this country, whether it's as a veteran, prosecuter, or Senator, he has shown an ability to fight for things that matter."

The second of the two articles, aptly named "Lifetime" focuses on Kerry's biography and includes pictures of his days at Yale, in the military, and also as a Senator and prosecutor.

Both ads focus on positive aspects of John Kerry and explain of the efforts put forth by Kerry for our country as the announcer in "Lifetime" explains.

"In combat, he earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts…for more than 30 years, John Kerry has served America. As a tough prosecutor, he fought for victims' rights. In the Senate, he was a leader in the fight for health care…then in the 1990s cast a decisive vote that created 20 million new jobs. A lifetime of service and strength."

The new take on the campaign - using positive messages about oneself instead of stating negative messages about one's opponent - seems to be meeting with positive responses from voters.

Jo Ann Volpe, a resident of Middletown, NY, feels that it is about time that one of the candidates has taken the positive approach to campaign advertisements and believes that our current president should attempt to do the same.

"I'm very pleased to see John Kerry talk positively about himself," she said. "There has been so much negative talk between the two parties that it's hard to decide which one to vote for. I feel like I'm being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. Bush criticizes Kerry and Kerry criticizes Bush. All I've been hearing from the candidates as of late is that the other one is much worse. I'd like to hear more information about the good qualities of our candidates."

Bush has also been running advertisements. However, the current president has resorted to the usual negative criticism with his decision to re-air his commercials from earlier in the election process. The advertisements will begin running shortly and will focus on Kerry's implied weakness concerning taxes and terrorism.

President Bush is not without his own forms of positive campaigning, however, and has recently begun a bus tour across Michigan and Ohio in an attempt to win more voters. The bus is decorated with our nations colors - red, white, and blue - and is painted with the slogan, "Yes, American Can".

This kind of positive political action pleases republican voters like Carol Terwilliger, a resident of Goshen, NY.

"I'm glad to see the President doing something positive with his money," she said. "I know that he has collected a lot of donations and it's about time that he put some of that money into doing good for the voters."

Despite the amount of money that is being spent of television advertisements and bus powered voter mobilization programs, some people still feel that the accumulation of such expansive funds is not the right thing.

"Television and broadcast companies are making a lot of money because of the elections," says Eckert. "Huge media corporations like ABC, NBC, and CBS are making millions of dollars in exchange for control of the airwaves by the candidates. I think that media companies should be minimally required to provide free air time for all candidates."