We’ve been talking now for months about how Obama’s success with small donors is the exception, not the rule. This week Public Campaign President Nick Nyhart, makes the case in Roll Call (subscription required).  As Nick points out:   “Congressional Candidates (unlike Obama) receive most of their donations from supporters giving larger contributions, and the trend is against small donors.” In fact, the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute found that by the end of March in the 2008 election cycle, House candidates had received only 10 percent of their donations from individuals giving $200 or less."   Nick further drives the point home, discussing the increasingly expensive nature of running. “Spending by Congressional candidates in the 2008 election cycle was expected to reach an estimated $1.9 billion, according to CRP. That is nearly double the $1.1 billion spent in 2000.”   Although Obama’s success certainly deserves praise, we need to keep in mind the extraordinary and unusual nature of his fundraising abilities – and remember that others may not be able to replicate this feat.   As Nick says, what we really need is Clean Elections, or full public financing of elections. “There is an alternative to our current money-driven system that levels the political playing field and puts voters first in the process…the Fair Elections Now Act (which) has been introduced in the Senate by Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and in the House by Rep. Larson (D-Conn.) and Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (R-N.C.).”  Members of Congress and President-Elect Obama will have a lot to deal with come January, and one of the first things they take on should be remaking our election system to put the voters first and remove the influence of big money once and for all.