Usage Goof--Amount vs. Number

This morning's USA Today "Money" section includes as article about the mortgage foreclosure mess. In it, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is quoted as saying,

A huge amount of borrowers are not getting in contact with their servicers.

Oops. Borrowers can be counted. "Amount" should be reserved for lump sum things like "laundry" and "salt," as in:

• The amount of laundry I have to do is overwhelming.
• He borrowed a large amount of money to finance his campaign.
• The amount of effort he exerted was amazing.

The correct word to use with items that can be counted is "number," as in:

• A large number of dogs have been roaming the neighborhood.
• The number of candidates is dwindling.
• We noticed a large number of cars blocking the intersection.

The sentence in this morning's article should have been:

A huge number of borrowers are not getting in contact with their servicers.