Editorial: Vilsack drops out of the hunt

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007 | 6:55 a.m.

Dropping out of the Democratic presidential race, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said the inability to raise money in a crowded field made it impossible for him to compete.

"It is money, and only money, that is the reason we are leaving today," Vilsack said at a press conference in Des Moines.

Vilsack raised $1.1 million in the last two months of last year, but found that after Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., entered the race, the money was quickly drying up. Earlier this week, for example, Obama raised $1.3 million at a dinner hosted by DreamWorks SKG studio chiefs Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.

Some experts suggest that spending in the 2008 campaign may top $1 billion. Considering that this election has started earlier than ever and has a jumble of candidates, it would not be a surprise if the contest costs that much.

Vilsack was a long shot who hoped he could make it into early next year and gain momentum in his home state, which has the first presidential contest of the year. But he was barely registering in the polls, and he became the first Democrat to pull out of the race.

Money always has played a decisive role in politics, but it is a shame to see it hasten the exit of someone like Vilsack, who certainly could have been a formidable candidate. Given the cost of campaigns, it will not be a surprise if Vilsack is joined by a host of others long before the Iowa caucus next January.