February 24, 2007 6:43 AM

It's like anything else in life: he who has the gold makes the rules

Ex-Iowa governor drops 2008 presidential bid

Vilsack’s Departure Is a Loss for Progressives

Vilsack drops out of prez race: Says public campaign financing could have made a difference

Vilsack drops out

VILSACK TO DROP OUT OF RACE, TAKE CONTROL VIA VIOLENT COUP INSTEAD

The reality, however, is that the process has become, to a great extent, about money, a lot of money…. So it is money and only money that is the reason we are leaving today.

It would be easy to make fun of Tom Vilsack as the obscure former Governor of an obscure state, David trying to take on Goliath in the 2008 Presidential race. While Vilsack may be an easy target, the sad thing is that he’ll never have an opportunity to compete and debate, only because he decided he can’t compete in today’s megabucks political arena. In an era when the “big guns” like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can rake in $1 million from a single fundraiser, Vilsack never had a chance. A man with more sound ideas than charisma, Vilsack learned the seminal lesson of modern Presidential politics: you can sit at the right hand of God, but if you don’t the cash, no one’s going to pay attention to you.

I don’t know if I ever could have supported Vilsack for the Democratic nomination. Even so, it would have been nice to have his voice in the mix. Whether or not you support Vilsack, you can’t accuse him of not being a thoughtful, serious candidate who was in the race because he cares about his country and the direction he sees it heading.

The message that Vilsack’s exit sends is that running for President really is about raising, and burning through, large amounts of cash…and it’s tough to present yourself as an independent man of the People when you’re dependent on fundraising from various flavors of special interests.

Welcome to the death of populism.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 24, 2007 6:43 AM.

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