Paul Vs McCain

By Steve Benen

(Political Animal)  PAUL VS MCCAIN....As if John McCain's campaign freefall weren't embarrassing enough before, this has got to hurt.

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that he has an impressive $2.4 million in cash on hand after raising an equal amount during the second quarter, putting him ahead of one-time Republican frontrunner John McCain, who reported this week he has only $2 million in the bank. In an exclusive interview taped Friday and airing Sunday on "This Week," Paul said his campaign is on a better trajectory than McCain's.

"I think some of the candidates are on the down-slope, and we're on the up-slope," said Paul.

Ouch. Salt on the wound.

To be sure, I don't exactly expect mainstream campaign observers to start treating McCain and Paul as equally credible presidential hopefuls, but who would have guessed, half-way through 2007, that Paul would have more money in the bank than McCain?