Maybe He's Running for Vice

Barrack Obama’s fundraising might have slacked off some, but the sheer numbers continue to impress:

Obama is expected to pull in between $18 million and $19 million during the July-September reporting period, according to spokeswoman Jen Psaki — $14 million to $15 million less than his $33 million second-quarter haul. Another Obama supporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted that number could be somewhat higher, “in the low 20s.”

However, there’s also this:

So far, Obama has not been able to translate his fundraising prowess into popularity in key primary states, trailing Clinton by double digits in all early battlegrounds except Iowa.

Is Obama the Phil Gramm of ’08? If you’ll remember, Gramm bragged he held the secret to victory in the ’96 race — “ready money.” Problem was, he couldn’t turn his warchest into actual votes. And unless Obama is willing to buy votes, I’m not sure how he can turn his dollars into the nomination.