I don't wish to be negative, and this will be perceived as such, but I want it reported anyway.
When Howard Dean announced he was going to decline Federal Matching funds, he and Trippi said it was so they had money to defeat Bush. I am cynical, and my thought at the time was "Right, they want the money to defeat Democrats."
I will honestly say, that this was one cynical prediction that I hoped I would be wrong about.
The
LA Times is reporting that Howard Dean is setting a Spending Record in Iowa with TV Ads spots and other GOTV spending.
His total is likely to exceed $2.7 million by Monday, when Iowa Democrats hold their caucuses. Although exact figures for previous campaigns aren't available, many analysts agree that his spending is a record.
"I would challenge anyone to say it's not the most," said Bill Dal Col, the campaign manager for Republican Steve Forbes, whose Iowa advertising blitz during the 1996 campaign cost about half as much.
Numbers through Jan 9th...
Dean at around $2.4 million
Kerry is at around $1.9 million
Gephardt is at around $1.6 million
Edwards is at around $1.3 million
Dean, the first Democrat to reject public financing, has said repeatedly he did so to enable him to compete financially later this year with President Bush, who in 2000 and again this year opted out of the system.
But Dean's Democratic rivals say he made the move mainly to have an advantage over them. "Opting out was all about winning the nomination," said David Axelrod, an Edwards advisor.
Sigh. It's these kinds of actions which make people like me cynical about politicians. :(