Money Matters

Conventional wisdom is telling us that Barack Obama is the odds-on favorite to win the presidency this fall.  But history also tells us that campaign money matters in presidential elections.  

So what can be learned by counting the money available to Obama and GOP rival John McCain?  The election this fall may not be a fait accompli.

Alex Mayer writing on The Platform at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this afternoon analyzed the numbers.  According to Mayer, McCain had a stellar fundraising month in June and, combined with the Republican National Committee, has more than $95 million in cash on hand.  Obama and the Democratic National Committee are estimated to have just $47 million on hand.  

Plus, Obama's fundraising is declining and McCain's is on the rise.  And McCain will be getting over $84 million in federal campaign funds but Obama won't - since he flip-flopped and decided not to participate in the system.

I'm not on the McCain bandwagon by any means - after all, I'm conservative and he's not - but McCain is certainly better than Obama.  And these numbers give the country the audacity to hope Obama will fail in November.