The NYTimes has an interesting article in today's paper about John McCain and his inability to attract the same big donors that George W. Bush corralled in 2000 and 2004. During the primaries, more than half of Bush's so-called Pioneers and Rangers (those who raised at least $100K and $200K, respectively) did not help any GOP candidate. Of the rest, most signed on with Rudy Giuliani. Even now that McCain has secured the nomination, he is still not winning them over in droves.
This story flies in the face of one piece of conventional wisdom: that the Democrats' endless primary fight gives McCain a break from campaigning, and extra time to concentrate on fundraising.
Keeping in mind the usual caveat about anecdotal evidence, it's still interesting to note that several of the Bush Pioneers and Rangers quoted in the article said the reason they weren't signing up this time around was because they were "tired." Others expressed a nebulous lack of passion. Still others were more direct in saying that they did not particularly care for McCain.
It's early yet, of course. I'm sure that once the Dems get things sorted out and stop campaigning against each other, McCain will be able to raise the ominous specter of a liberal in the Oval Office to stimulate some of the laggards -- fear always works. And the McCain people argue in the article that there is always turnover among active fundraisers from one campaign to the next. Still, he remains way behind Obama and Clinton in fundraising, his campaign hasn't yet managed to attract large numbers of small donors through Web-based efforts, and there have been countless stories told over the past year or two about GOP Congressional efforts suffering declining support as well.
Is this the downside of being a maverick? Or is it the first concrete manifestation of the Bush Legacy?
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