Vilsack: "It is money and only money that is the reason we are leaving today"

[Herman Munster]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/us/politics/23cnd-vilsack.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

While Mr. Vilsack reported raising $1.1 million from Nov. 9 to Jan. 31, according to campaign finance reports, he had spent all but $396,000. After Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York entered the race in late January, his advisers said, he struggled to persuade contributors to help finance his campaign.

Still, Mr. Vilsack’s decision to drop out startled many of his Iowa admirers. Only two days ago, he appeared with other Democratic candidates at a forum in Nevada, and he was scheduled to attend a campaign rally tonight in Iowa.

Early today, he made a series of calls to party officials and supporters, saying his campaign was spending more money than it was taking in. In the news conference today in Des Moines, he criticized the intense focus that is placed upon raising money, saying that ideas and innovations get overshadowed.

“It is money and only money that is the reason we are leaving today,” said Mr. Vilsack.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Not a Vilsack fan but that's a sad commentary on our system

The road to hell is paved with privatized elections.

[skipos]

4. Yes, that is sad but he was polling 4th place in his own state.

Richardson, Obama, Edwards and HRC all are in the lead in their homestates (Kucinich, Biden and Dodd don't). If you can't win over the people who know you best, what hope do you have?

[Cha]

9. Yeh, they may have liked him but

just didn't think he was Prez material?

[TreasonousBastard]

5. I agree. I hear that by...

the time the '08 elections are over, more than a billion bucks will have been raised. And spent.

Funny thing is that any one you ask will tell you they hate all the political ads. There is quite a bit of speculation that all eternal fundraising and campaigning is turning more people off from voting or participating. I know it's pissing me off.

Maybe, just maybe, that's the idea.

[bigdarryl]

2. he's right it is about money only. what a classy guy to bad he had to drop out the ....

bottom line is it's about getting Hillary the nomination because mainly she's a woman. there is no way Hillary Clinton has more experience than Vilsack. this process has gotten bad.

[Mass]

3. Sad state of our democracy - I am not a fan of Vilsack, but something is definitively wrong...

It is time for a serious finance campaign reform, something that goes much further than McCain-Feingold. If money can buy presidency, this is no more a democracy.

[Debi]

6. Just because Tom Vilsack says it doesn't make it so

He didn't need to open seven campaign offices in Iowa alone. He didn't need to hire the amount of staff he did. He didn't need to stay at the most expensive hotels and travel 'in style' to every event he went to. He lived the high life for the last couple of years on his PAC money and campaign money.

It wasn't JUST the money that sank his camapaign. He didn't have support from the people he had represented for eight years as Governor and two of the top state officials that had served his entire term with him just endorsed a different candidate. He could not get people to jump on board his campaign. He never polled higher than third in our state and was dropping poll-wise with the announcements of each additional candidate.

Yes, the money game in politics is awful. But, Tom Vilsack did not need to spend the way he was AND he was never really 'in' the race to begin with.

[DU9598]

7. Vilsack is not a rich man

I admire him a lot for realizing that if he were not ultimately successful in his bid for the nomination he could be saddled - along with his family - with significant debts. His withdrawal was a smart move. Just because he was not leading in Iowa now does not mean he would not have been successful here and beyond. Let's not forget how the race in Iowa often changes in the days just prior to the caucuses. Vilsack had the groundwork in place here to win. His departure probably means we will be seeing a lot more of Bill and Hillary and Elizabeth and John and Barack and Michelle over the summer months. That's certainly not a bad thing for us political junkies in the Hawkeye state.

[blm]

8. Hoping a Senator resubmits Clean Money, Clean Elections bill to Senate.

Seems to me there will be alot more than 5 senators willing to vote for it now.

[madfloridian]

10. It's because Hillary says donate only to her. She dried up the money.

That is why those who are daring to support Obama are getting attacked.

She told her big donors not to share the love.