Your Cardinal is always astounded at how much childish energy the campaigns waste fan dancing and playing silly games with each other over the timing of their quarterly fundraising announcements. The numbers are still a fog of spin and early claims, but if the early claims are to be trusted, it is looking like Rudy fell a little behind Romney, McCain survived, and Thompson raised just enough to declare table stakes. The big and impressive numbers are over on the Democratic side. Ignoring the general election money, which is an obvious trick to pump up overall numbers that only Matt Drudge seems to fall for, both Obama‘s strong $19 million and HRC‘s very strong $22 million are stunningly impressive numbers. It’s close enough that it won’t give a competitive edge to either campaign. Edwards stays alive with $7 million, but that’s about all. The true financial strength of each campaign will be apparent when the cash on hand numbers are made public. Those will not be released ’till later this month and at FEC gunpoint since the cash on hand is the X-ray campaign managers fear most. Bank on this: At least one of the campaigns soon will be embarrassed because the numbers they are flacking to the press now in these stupid finance spin games will be discovered as slightly fudged or exaggerated when the cold, nasty, and specific FEC reports finally come out. Conversely, some campaigns will pay a price in media credibility for way under-spinning their numbers. Mendacium nullum senescit.
