From the Tuesday Morning Jolt…

Who Killed Scott Walker’s Chance at the Presidency?
A shocking twist! The presidential hopes of Scott Walker lie dead on the floor, slain by some mysterious assailant! His bid was found eliminated, deprived of oxygen in the Reagan Library.
Was it Herald Hard-Money, running out when Walker needed him most? Or was it Baron Boring-Speaking-Style? “Strange… the Baron had the opportunity to strike at several candidates, but only chose this one… so far!”
Or was it Tribune Trump, denying him the air time to have a “moment” necessary to fuel money and momentum?
Mickey Kaus offers other suspects – Damsel Donor-Class betraying him! Jon Gabriel, having once seen a bright, Calvin-Coolidge-esque future for Walker, points the finger at King Kardashian Culture, a country too hungry for drama and spectacle to appreciate Walker.
Reihan Salam casts a suspicious eye at Fellow Foreign-Policy, and how Walker never quite mastered those challenges. Rich and Eliana wrote up a lengthy analysis a few weeks ago concluding Walker wasn’t sufficiently prepared for the rapidly-changing environment of a national campaign.
Or was Walker’s bid slain by a sinister conspiracy of all of these forces?
Yesterday’s National Review “Meet the Campaign Managers” Event couldn’t have been better timed; attendees and viewers got to see the men running most of the other GOP campaigns assess Walker’s departure within an hour of the news breaking. Trust me, it’s worth a watch, or at least a quick scan.
Marco Rubio’s campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, said he was glad his candidate wasn’t leading right now. His statement generated some laughter, but it wasn’t entirely spin or a joke. Unless a polling lead generates its own momentum and influx of funds, what good does it do you? What good did Walker’s lead in the spring do him?
The big lesson of Monday, both in Wisconsin and at yesterday’s event, is, “Keep your overhead down.” (If you’re self-funding with near-unlimited funds the way Trump is, you don’t have to worry about this.)
A report about Walker from a week ago:
Many backers have directed their ire at campaign manager Rick Wiley, who some Walker supporters believe expanded the staff too quickly and has failed to calibrate spending during the summer fundraising season. A recent count put the number of full-time Walker campaign staff at around 90, and there have been no cutbacks in salaries as there were earlier this summer in former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s operation.
What does a big staff get you at this point? The first votes that matter are in February in Iowa. If you do well in those early caucuses and primaries, you can hire the free agents who will be available from the campaigns that crashed and burned earlier.
I’m told the range of salaries for campaign managers and state directors varies widely. The more frugal campaigns cap out at about $10,000 per month, but some ended up paying about $30,000 per month. Some candidates have to be wondering if they’re getting their money’s worth.
Another lesson: If you’re a SuperPAC, and your candidate is sputtering, spend it if you’ve got it. Both Perry and Walker had well-funded PACs… and obviously, it didn’t do them much good.
Finally, last cycle at this time, we were watching our sixth Republican presidential debate. The debates are the best opportunity to “have a moment,” to have some memorable statement, exchange, or occasionally, gaffe that define the candidacy and either build support or fumble it away. The more frequent debates helped fuel the “flavor of the month” phenomenon of last cycle, with candidates like Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain enjoying rapid ascents and then suddenly tumbling back down.
Everyone needs a moment, and right now the debates are the only stage for a moment. Having fewer debates has slowed the metabolism of this campaign. That’s good news if you’re ahead – and an ominous sign if you’re stuck at the back of the pack right now.