John Ellis also writes
In a weird way, the GOP presidential primary campaign now hinges on Mitt Romney. More specifically, it hinges on whether Romney will be willing to spend as much of his personal fortune as necessary to win the GOP nomination. That could amount to as much as $40 million, on top of the $17 million he has already contributed to the cause. If he does decide to fully fund his own campaign, then he will be able to outspend his rivals on television advertising by as much as 10-to-1 in state after state after state (think: February 5th). If someone asks you: “can Mitt Romney win the GOP nomination?” ask them: “is he willing to write the check?”
I can’t necessarily agree.
If Michigan had sent Romney home with another second place win, the lesson was going to be you could spend about $100 million on advertising and campaign efforts, and that if the Republican grassroots don’t think you’re genuine… they’re just not going to think you’re genuine.
Maybe Romney’s found his groove, and he’ll start getting his money’s worth out of his campaign advertising. Recent history is littered with aspiring lawmakers who fell short despite spending massive amounts of money… H. Ross Perot, Steve Forbes, Michael Huffington (who spent $28 million of his fortune in an unsuccessful bid for the Senate), Al Checchi (who spent $40 million to finish one percent ahead of third place in a California gubernatorial primary)…
(Hmm. Romney spent about $7 million in Iowa, about $7 million for New Hampshire. Twenty-one states hold Republican primaries and caucuses… For the low, low price of $147 million, Romney can finish second in all of the Super Duper Tuesday primaries.)
Money helps. A lot. But if the GOP electorate isn’t convinced about you — and as of this moment, Romney’s floating between 8 percent and 19 percent nationally – all the money in the world won’t put you over the top.