Which may indicate his support goes deeper than the polls have indicated.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney provided a jolt to the Republican presidential contest yesterday, reporting a haul of $21 million in the first three months of the year, as Sen. John McCain of Arizona posted a lackluster third-place finish that even his campaign manager called a disappointment.

As campaigns release their first meaningful fundraising figures in what appears certain to become the most expensive presidential campaign in history, McCain's $12.5 million total also put him behind former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who leads the Republican field in public polls and reported taking in $15 million in the first quarter.

Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has set the pace for the field so far, reporting Sunday that she had raised $26 million in combined primary and general election funds and transferred an additional $10 million from her Senate campaign account. Her total was followed by that of former North Carolina senator John Edwards, who raised $14 million. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has so far declined to release figures for his campaign.

The totals of the major contenders easily surpassed the record $8.9 million raised by Al Gore in the first three months of 1999.

Now some folks may be disturbed by the sheer number of dollars raised and spent during this election cycle, but let me put it in perspective for you -- taken in the aggregate, the money raised by the six leading candidates amounts to $0.33 (yeah, that's right, thirty-three cents) per American. Is that really too much to be spent by those seeking the most powerful elected office in the United States?

Posted by: Greg at 10:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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