A report just released by the National Institute on Money in State Politics points to the relatively small percentage of unitemized donations, or small dollar donations, that comprise state-level campaign war chests. In fact the number seems to be getting smaller. All talks of the pending small donor revolution aside, Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) recent success may still be the exception rather than the rule.

Unitemized contributions typically fall below a state's threshold for reporting the contributor's personal information. Among other things, the report finds the small donation share of the revenue pie to be shrinking at an alarming rate.

"Overall, candidates in 2005 and 2006 reported a smaller percentage of unitemized contributions than did candidates in the previous 2003-2004 election cycle: 3.8 percent compared with 5.1 percent."

This decrease in small contributions mirrors the decrease of small donors at the congressional level, as well. As Public Campaign President Nick Nyhart wrote on Huffington Post, "Of the more than 1,000 registered candidates running for a U.S. House seat, less than 10 percent of the $447 million raised between January 2007 and March 2008 came from donations under $200, according to the study. In 2000, the figure was 15 percent."

One thing is clear. Without comprehensive reform of the current campaign finance system, money will continue to speak louder than words, as candidates continue to represent the interests of the few big donors rather than of the majority of their own constituents.