Follow the Money

I'm feeling sucker-punched, and disappointed in presidential hopeful John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth. After their heart-touching press conference where they announced the return of Elizabeth's cancer, they had my admiration for their grit and devotion to a cause greater than themselves.

But since, they have solicited sympathy emails on John's campaign site, and then used the email addresses of the tens of thousands who responded for their hit-up-for-money list. Some say it's just a good fund-raising strategy.

I say it doesn't pass the smell test. Just makes them another of the shameless money-grubbing pack.... knocks them off of their new-found high ground.

And, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) finally released the numbers for his campaign's haul in the first quarter of the year..... $25 million. Obama is treading on the heels of Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) supposedly unmatchable money-raising machine that spewed-out a lower-than-expectations $26 million.

And, there is more bad news for Hillary behind the numbers. "Obama appears to have surpassed Clinton in several ways: He raised $6.9 million through donations over the Internet, more than the $4.2 million that Clinton raised online. He reported donations from 100,000 people, double the 50,000 people who gave to Clinton." (WaPo)

Suddenly, Hillary isn't looking like a shoo-in. This makes the Drudgies of the world most unhappy. They love giving her good headlines, almost fawning coverage trumpeting her "inevitability" as the Democratic presidential nominee. Because, she is the GOP's choice to run against.

There is no one who could rev up the base and bring out the GOP vote better than Hillary Rodham Clinton.