Show me the money

Mitt Romney announced that he raised over $6.5 million yesterday in his first day of fundraising for the upcoming presidential race. That is a very good start but should not be overestimated as he will need to raise 15 to 20 times that amount over the next twelve months. You also have to take into account that he used alot of his top contacts on day one and that each day forward will be harder and harder to raise money. He has successfully lined up a stellar fundraising team and he has a huge advantage of raising money in the Mormon community. All I know is that raising this much money in one day is a sign that he is definitely going to be a serious contender for the nomination.

A couple questions remain about Gov. Romney. Can he keep the support of the conservative movement with tales of moderating his positions on abortion and gay marriage? Personally, I don't care that he has changed his mind on these issues as I think many people re-evaluate their political positions as they get older. But these charges do allow McCain to call him a flip flopper and question his credibility. They also open the door for a lifelong conservative to outflank him on the right. Sen. Brownback would like to be that person but he has not proven up to the task just yet.

The larger question still remains is whether or not Americans are ready to vote for Mormon candidate. A recent survey suggested that 37 percent of the public is not willing to even consider voting for a Mormon. This is a really bad sign for Romney as more people are willing or least say they are willing to vote for a woman or black person for President. About the only thing worse than being a Mormom might be running as a Muslim.

Having laid out both barriers, I think there is still time for Romney to overcome them and win the nomination. In fact a leading Michigan pollster predicted this morning that Romney will be the nominee. The key will be defining himself before the other candidates define him. The race is already on as I constantly get annoying emails from the McCain campaign disguised as GOP updates that highlight all of Romney's problems. The emails are working as many conservatives who were on the Romney bandwagon in Michigan are beginning to fall off. Michigan a key state for Romney as his Dad was a popular Governor here, and he needs to win this state to have any chance of winning the nomination. I would hate to see his candidacy derailed before he even gets started. Hopefully he can spend some of that $6.5 million here and help get his message out.