I'm on the e-mail lists for all the major candidates, noted today that the Edwards campaign sent out a request for money and said that if people send in $15, they can upload pictures that will go into a Heroes of One America mosaic.
On some level, I realize that all campaigns will send out all sorts of things that go beyond just saying "send us money," be it a chance to meet the candidate, reacting to something that's happened in the campaign, etc., and I've no problem with that. Me thinks that if anyone was the front-runner and got the focus Hillary got in the last debate, their campaign would send out something of a "We're strong, the pressures on and we need your help" appeal.
In hearing the Edwards talk, it comes off as a bit odd that there's the One America theme and we can be Heroes of One America... if we give the candidate money. So if money's tight, there's just been a major unexpected expense, etc., we can't be "Heroes of One America?"
Obviously every campaign/candidate is going to do or say something that doesn't strike their most ardent supporters as the wisest choice, relative to raising money or otherwise. Should any one fund-raising effort make someone less likely to vote for a candidate? Nope, no more than we should reflexively back/bash anything a particular candidate does?
Probably naive to think that more than about 10 percent of any responses to this, and the people who respond, are eminently predictable.