As much as those votes at the ballot box help you win an election, without money, as we've seen in the Republican race for president, you can be left behind.

And as Mitt Romney blows out his fellow Republican presidential-nominee contenders in fundraising, President Obama and the DNC are raking in the big bucks as well.

Obama and the DNC raised an impressive $68 million in the last three months of the year, filling his 2011 coffers with $222 million to date.

Team Obama hopes to raise between $700 million and $800 million by the November elections. In 2008 Obama raised $750 million, leading to speculation that $1 billion could be possible for the commander-in-chief this time around. But with mediocre poll numbers and the enthusiasm of 2008 currently missing at the moment, it's tough to imagine Obama surpassing his 2008 number.

The announcement of the fundraising total comes a day after the president hosted a large fundraiser in his hometown of Chicago.

A part of that campaign cash consisted of 1.3 million people contributing to his campaign, with 98 percent of them donated amounts of $250 or less. That's a good sign for Obama, despite many experts claiming that the youth and grassroots efforts that he had in '08 will not be replicated.

Read more at the Daily News.

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