A quarter million? Peanuts!

From Marcella Bombardieri, Globe staff

Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, may have felt a little forlorn when rival Barack Obama's campaign announced earlier this month that he had more than 258,000 donors in the first six months of the year, far more than any other candidate.

Now, the Clinton campaign is striking back with a bid to position her as the candidate of the grassroots, not just the party establishment.

"I want to share an astonishing -- and humbling -- number: 981,440. That's how many of you have supported my campaign for change," Clinton wrote in an email to supporters today, asking them to sign up their friends to round that number up.

The millionth supporter will win a prize: the chance "to roll up our sleeves for a whirlwind day" on the campaign trail with the candidate.

Clinton is counting anyone who has signed a supporter card at a rally or an online petition, as well as more active volunteers, according to the campaign. And we can attest: Her volunteers and staffers aren't shy with those clipboards at campaign events. (Of course, Obama's campaign boosted its number of contributors by counting anyone who bought a t-shirt or baseball cap.)

"Every 'You go girl!" and 'Give em Hill!', every letter of support you've sent, every dollar you've contributed, every friend you've recruited, every blog you've written, every house party you've attended, every petition you've signed, every time you've shown your support, every one of these things is the heart and soul of my campaign," Clinton wrote.

Although a mere "You go girl!" is probably not something her campaign can add to the count.