Not Now John McCain

The Republican side of the fundraising reports is coming in. Mitt Romney basically tied Hillary Clinton, with $23 million raised from his rolodex fattened by decades in venture capitalism. Rudy Giuliani earned a strong $15 million, $10 million of that in March. John McCain came in… third, with $12.5. Less money than Democratic also-ran John Edwards. The Hotline's blog dances around the gallows pole:

6. The media will treat this as a grevious, potentially fatal wound. It's not, but it's not outpatient surgery either. We're talking enemas, muscle scrapings, and lots of pain -- in the short term.

7. When McCain returns from Iraq, he'll give what his campaign bills as a major speech. Then he'll officially (again) launch his presidential committee with a multi-state tour. Consider these a reset.

8. Why aren't institutional Republican donors giving to McCain yet?

9. Does McCain have more than $5M CoH?

10. The response from a rival campaign manager: "Wow." The response from a rival communications director: "Wow." The response from a McCain sympathizer who IM'd us: "FX@#&*)"

Yeah, seriously. The man has been running for president since he released his delegates to Bush in 2000, and he's getting shellacked by a habitual cross-dresser and a man named "Willard." Matt Welch's cover story is growing less relevant - but no less readable! - by the day. This as Joel Kotkin uses the pages of McCain's newspaper to bury "the Sun Belt mafia" McCain was resting his hopes with.