Bush's "No cash left behind" program misses $50M
As Letterman joked about George W. Bush raising yet another $1.5M at a Washington fundraiser...that it was his "No cash left behind" program. Well, it appears, he did leave about $50M behind for John Kerry to pick up over the last three months according to this New York Times story (registration required):
Three-quarters of Mr. Kerry's money came in last month as major fund-raisers and organizations who supported other Democratic candidates early on shifted their loyalties to his campaign. Mr. Kerry set a single-quarter fund-raising record for a presidential challenger and gained substantially on his goal to raise $80 million by this summer, according to the campaign.
While some Democrats say Mr. Kerry can raise more, few say he will reach parity with the more than $180 million raised so far by Mr. Bush, who had no need to spend it in unopposed primaries. Mr. Kerry brought in almost $79 million, including a $6.4 million personal loan to the campaign, but had to spend heavily to reach the general election. Neither campaign has announced totals for what they now have on hand.