If you are, we suggest you start counting your money. In 1860 when Abraham Lincoln decided to run, the amount of money he needed for his campaign was $100,000, a tidy sum in those days. George W. Bush put together $367 million to win his presidency in 2004 and his opponent in the race, John Kerry, scraped together $328 million to fund his losing campaign.
Now we come to 2008. Forecasters are predicting that it will cost at least $400 million to take home the presidential prize. These figures throw interesting light on some aspects of the world's great democracy. It takes money to be a winner. Had Kerry upped his investment to say $400 million, would he have become the president instead of Bush? Is it only a matter of money, or are there other factors involved as well?
Michael E. Toner, the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, has some friendly advice for presidential candidates who plan to be taken seriously by the time nominating contests start in early 2008: Bring your wallet. "There is a growing sense that there is going to be a $100 million entry fee at the end of 2007 to be considered a serious candidate," Toner said in an interview.
Jockeying for presidential nomination in both major parties is already vigorously underway, as illustrated by the parade of GOP contenders on display this weekend at a meeting of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis. The main arena of competition is financial, as candidates prepare themselves for a race most analysts believe will involve sums vastly larger than those spent on previous presidential campaigns.
In the end, the candidate with access to the most money will be the next president of the United States of America!
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