The Campaign's Biggest Non-Story

Published Mar 30 2007, 12:57 AM by webteam

    The biggest non-story of the campaign so far is unfolding across the country as the candidates race to impress the pundits with how much money they raised in the first quarter. But, as t his story in the Politico indicates, the result is likely to be something of a stand-off: Virtually all the major candidates are going to do well -- or at least well enough to keep their campaigns viable, not only for now but until the first vote is cast.
    Sure, Hillary will probably out raise everyone on the Democratic side and Mitt Romney will likely ride his head start to the head of the GOP money parade. And yes, money talks. But votes and depth of support talk more and those will be determined by how candidates campaign, perform in debates, and where they promise to lead the country. The Politico article makes a good point that all anyone could talk about four years ago was Howard Dean’s surprise fundraising over the Internet. A lot of good it did him.
    The press likes to cover fundraising because it's an easy story to report (you don't even have to leave the office!); you get to talk to rich people, and it involves numbers -- which allow reporters to compare candidates easily. There's only one problem: The numbers that ultimately count in a campaign are votes, not dollars.
    If a candidate can out raise anyone else in the field by 2-1, that’s a story and an advantage. But that’s unlikely to happen. Remember our first rule from the first Tote Board column: Ideas win campaigns.

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The Campaign's Biggest Non-Story

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