Romney Spender, Obama Saver

The spending reports from the candidates are in and they show who's blowing through their money at an astonishing rate and who is hoarding well. Barack Obama has a remarkable $34 million cash on hand. Hillary Clinton has $33 million. Richardson has an impressive $7 million on hand. On the GOP side, Mitt Romney spent an astonishing $20 million last quarter, about 50 percent more than he raised. Romney has a personal fortune he can continue to spend. By contrast, Obama spent $16 million last quarter and Clinton spent $12 million. (My spouse works for Clinton, FYI) The Washington Post notes that "McCain ended June with $3.2 million in cash on hand, with $1.9 million available for the primary campaign, but was saddled with $1.8 million in debt. His supporters said he has a strong enough base of support, and is such a well-known figure, that he can proceed with a vigorous if scaled-back effort."

So I think we now know enough to ask some basic questions and make a few conclusions:

--Clinton and Obama will have enormous warchests going into the primaries but Edwards and Richardson will have money to spend, too. I still think Richardson is the one to watch in the second tier.

--Can Romney get his money's worth? With that kind of spending can he hold on to his leads in Iowa and New Hampshire?

--Can McCain get back in the game in terms of fundraising? He's ripped up his campaign team and he's all but broke so can he hunker down and get the money he needs?

--What happens to the money race when Fred Thompson gets in the race?

--Who will be the next one to drop out? Jim Gilmour dropped out over the weekend.