April 16, 2007
Pure Horserace: A Few Fundraising Truths
Behind The Spin, There Are Some Undeniable Facts In The '08 Money Race
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Play CBS Video Video The Candidates & Fundraising Douglas Schoen, author of the book "The Power of the Vote..." weighs in on campaign fundraising and the 2008 presidential candidates.
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Video Political Roundtable Politico's Mike Allen and Colbert King of the Washington Post join Bob Schieffer to talk about the suprising amount of money Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have raised for their campaigns.
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Video Capitol Bob On Campaign Funds CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of "Face the Nation" Bob Schieffer speaks with Julie Chen about the record campaign funds some 2008 presidential hopefuls have been collecting.
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(CBS/iStockphoto)
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Who's Who 2008 Democratic Hopefuls Clinton, Obama and Edwards lead the chase for the Democratic nomination.
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Who's Who 2008 Republican Hopefuls McCain and Giuliani head up the Republican pack chasing the presidency.
Hillary Clinton edged out Barack Obama for most money raised overall, but Obama beat her in contributions for the primary campaign by about $6 million. On the other hand, Clinton also ended the quarter with more cash on hand. But on the other hand, Obama had nearly twice the donors Clinton did.
But one thing that can be said objectively, without qualification, is that Obama and Clinton did very well, and appear pretty well-off for future fundraising quarters. Here are some other truths that can be gleaned from the full first-quarter filings:
Still Looking For Mr. (Or Mrs.) Right? While GOP and media circles have been buzzing for weeks over the potential entry of Fred Thompson into the presidential race, a new CBS News poll suggests there is less of a groundswell among primary voters than the hype might suggest. Despite having served in the U.S. Senate and a successful acting career, Thompson remains unknown to much of his own party.
Among self-described GOP primary voters, 79 percent said they were either unsure about their opinion about him or didn't know enough to have an opinion. Just 21 percent said they viewed him favorably, and none were unfavorable.
There is clearly a hunger among Republicans for new additions to the field. Just 35 percent of GOP primary voters said they were satisfied with their current choices and 61 percent want more. Most of the talk recently has centered on Thompson, who has been the subject of an effort spearheaded by elected officials and party fixtures in Tennessee and Washington, D.C. But the poll suggests that excitement has yet to filter down to the grass roots of the party.
Another frequently mentioned addition is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has said he will make a decision sometime later this year about a possible entrance into the race. While primary voters might be unfamiliar with Thompson, he at least has room to grow. Republicans know Gingrich and a full 25 percent said they have an unfavorable view of him and just 33 percent see him favorably.
Where does it all leave us? Judging by this poll (and it is just one snapshot in time), there's plenty of room for a knight in shining armor to ride in and sweep the party off its feet. But, of the two apparently waiting in the wings, one is unknown and the other carried some significant baggage. Bottom line — there's room for someone else. The question is, who?
Return Of The Maverick: Remember the John McCain even a Democrat could love? The one who triumphantly rode The Straight Talk Express to a New Hampshire victory in 2000? Well, if today's speech by McCain is any indication, he's trying to make a return to form after a bad few weeks for his campaign.
Speaking before The Economic Club of Memphis in Tennessee, McCain outlined the fiscal policies he would pursue as president, including elimination of deficits and simplification of the tax code — typical fare, especially for a Republican. But he also went a step further, saying he would veto any bill containing "pork barrel" spending.
McCain has bona fides on this issue: He's been known for reading off, and sarcastically commenting on, lists of odd spending projects tucked into various spending bills. Still, it would be interesting to see McCain act on this promise if elected president, because, if the past few years have been any guide, he would have to veto almost every spending bill passed by Congress. We're guessing members of the Appropriations committees in the House and Senate won't be jumping to endorse McCain just yet.
Ready To Serve: Speaking in California on Sunday, former President Clinton said he's ready to serve in any capacity should his wife be elected president, the Associated Press reports.
"People ask me all the time what I would do if Hillary was elected president, and I say — I tell the truth — I'll do whatever I'm asked to," he said.
But put all that "Secretary of State Clinton" talk to rest. The former president pointed out that the law forbids presidents from appointing immediate family members to Cabinet posts.
Editor's Note: Pure Horserace is a daily update of political news as interpreted by the political observers at CBSNews.com. Click here to sign up for the e-mail version.
By David Miller
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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- From http://www.solidpolitics.com
Freak show.... Hillary Clinton spent last week ripping Don Imus, but she didn't think twice about taking campaign contributions from other media circus clowns like Jerry Springer, Rosie O'Donnell and Hugh Hefner.... - Reply to this comment
As a country, we need real campaign finance reform. We need to completely remove all PAC and Corporate money from the process. It's gotten to the point where our representatives don't represent us any more. We no longer have a true Democracy.- Reply to this comment
- It is an undeniable, terrible truth that it costs mucho dollars to run a credible presidential race. The candidates have to lower themselves to conducting fund raisers or they do not compete. Until someone comes up with a better alternative, we are stuck with this system.
About John McCain - He is a decent honorable man but he has self destructed over the Iraq war issue. Donors do not want to be associated with someone that is sure not to win. They want to go with a potential winner. - Reply to this comment
- Again we will get to choose from a handful of lackeys, wealthy ones at that.
The dirty tactics team has driven a lot of viable candidates away from the campaign. The truth about some of the candidates is bad enough; who wants to be slandered with a bunch of lies? - Reply to this comment
- "Is it the general belief that whomever raises the most money will win because they can afford the most advertising? Is it true?" Posted by bobgee_1999
No. They will probably win because they can afford the best "slander team" that can render useless any otherwise effective opposing campaign. We saw this in Bush vs. McCain and Bush vs. Kerry.
The neocon dirty tactics team has lowered the bar and I suspect we'll see much more of this in both parties in the future. - Reply to this comment
- Is it the general belief that whomever raises the most money will win because they can afford the most advertising? Is it true? If it is, that certainly says something about American politics; we are no more discerning about who we elect than what cereal we buy. I say "Cap'n Crunch & Count Chocula in '08!"
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