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Huckabee and campaign cash Wednesday, Oct 3, 2007 By David Sanders Mike Huckabee's presidential effort will report having raised around $1 million in the most recent period. That number is sure to disappoint the political observers who rightly view cash-raised and cash-on-hand numbers as a key indicator of a candidate's strength. It's important to remember that fundraising has never been one of Huckabee's strengths. The thought was that Huckabee could take his surprise second-place finish in August's Iowa straw poll, which he claimed launched his candidacy into the top tier, and raise loads of campaign cash in September. That didn't happen. In his previous campaigns he relied on others to raise the money, which worked when he was an incumbent governor facing marginal opponents, but it isn't working now. Why is raising money so difficult for a man who recently has shown so much promise? In his previous career as a minister, preaching on tithing was commonplace, but even then he relied on ushers to pass the offering plates. Those who have worked for him through the years contend that he dislikes the repetition of making phone calls asking for money. Unlike other campaigns, where some presidential candidates boast of their ability to raise large sums of money, Huckabee does not view himself as the campaign's chief fundraiser. Instead he prefers to think of himself as the operation's chief marketer charged with delivering the message. At no time was this more evident than following the Iowa straw poll victory. As he made the rounds on the networks' Sunday morning talk shows and other cable programs that command smaller audiences, some of Huckabee's longtime supporters received phone calls from the campaign asking for money. But, the calls were not from Huckabee as might be expected. A person very close to the campaign recently joked that Huckabee would rather be in front of a camera talking to a small audience today than raising money that would buy much-needed television advertising for tomorrow. But don't look for these lackluster dollar numbers to put a dent in his campaign yet. Even as he continues to lose the fundraising battle, he is clearly winning the media battle. Despite trailing the other major campaigns in cash raised, his campaign has raised his profile by letting him do what he does best - communicate. To his credit, his campaign has stretched its budget and done more with less compared to other campaigns. I'm sure the other first-tier candidates would trade some of their cash for Huckabee's ability to communicate. But as the campaign wears on, his communications skills and his campaign's media savvy can only get him so far. The Republican Party isn't any closer to coalescing around one candidate. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain have yet to convince Republicans. The jury is still out on Fred Thompson as his campaign has been plagued by a very shaky start. So there is still an opportunity for the former Arkansas governor to make a solid push. But if he wants to become a true contender and fill the void left by the current GOP lineup, he will have to adjust his focus and raise more money. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
