MyDD has the preliminary fund raising numbers for the 2008 Presidential Candidates. In order of funds raised for the quarter they are:
Barack Obama – $19 million
Hillary Clinton – $17 – 19 million
Rudy Giuliani – $10 million
Fred Thompson – $8 million
Mitt Romney – $8 million (The MyDD story has him at $15 million, Oliver Willis has him at $10 million including $7 million self-donated. So, I’m just using the $15 million as a total and the $7 million as a donation).
John Edwards – $7 million
Bill Richardson – $5.2 million
Kos has a post up suggesting that Edwards is making a poor strategic decision to opt for public funding in the primary and general while Obama is making a poor strategic decision to say that he will take public funding in the general if the Republican candidate does the same. Because the Democrats are killing the Republicans in fund raising this time around, Kos suggests, it shows a lack of the killer instinct to give the Republicans any quarter in this respect.
Kos is a fool.
Edwards has all but doomed his campaign by trying to compete against Hillary, Obama and the rest by pandering to Corporations who want major increasing in “nonimmigrant” “temporary” work visas like the H1-B, L1 and F visas. It only hurt his core support among those hardest hit by outsourcing and offshoring.
Likewise Edwards hurt himself by attending the heinous Univision debates and attempting to out pander the rest of the candidates for the radical latino vote. Edwards hoped to gain the official support of the SEIU and OFCW unions which are increasingly inflitrated by the loony Neo-Wobbly ANSWER and Socialist Worker Open Border absolutists. They have refused to officially endorse him because while Edwards has strong support among the rank and file, he is not sufficiently pro “Open Borders”.
Edwards has refused to learn from the critical lesson of Bill Clinton and find his Sista Souljah moment that will set him apart from the rest of the corrupt pandering Democratic candidates.