The $25 million Obama raised (just shy of Hillary’s $26 million), is the biggest news to come out of the first quarter numbers. Hillary has the whole Clinton machine behind her, and the backing of prominent Democrats, and was essentially able to be two places at once by dispatching Bill. She’s been preparing for this moment for at least six years, and a young upstart comes out of nowhere to nearly tie her in the one area that was expected to be her strongest suit. Obama also raised the money with a staggering 100,000 contributors, double the amount of Hillary, showing the depth of his support at the grassroots level. This reinforces a view that I’ve had of Hillary Clinton for a long time–that she’s the John McCain of the Democrats. That is, the candidate who the media anointed as the frontrunner, but who is disliked by many rank and file members of the party, who not only disapprove of her, but resent the fact that her candidacy is being shoved down their throats. Clearly, with $26 million, she’s in a stronger position among Democrats than McCain is among Republicans, but Clinton’s status as the inevitable nominee just took a huge hit.