Money Isn"t Everything - Even in Politics
All the money being thrown around in the 2012 presidential campaign might make one tend to believe that money is the most important asset to anyone running for public office.
However, this is not necessarily the case.
Look at what happened to Rick Perry this year.
He was great at raising money but fell flat as a candidate and soon exited the race.
But the best example of the failure of a big money candidate is former Texas Senator Phil Gramm from the 1996 presidential campaign.
In 1995, Gramm raised more money than any other Republican candidate in preparation for the 1996 campaign.
He often bragged about all the money he had collected, calling it the "mother's milk" of politics.
Because of his money-raising prowess, he became one of the favorites, along with Bob Dole, to capture the GOP presidential nomination.
However, once the nominating season actually got started, he didn't last very long.
Ironically, Gramm was taken down by columnist Pat Buchanan, who never had any real chance of winning the nomination.
In 1996, Louisiana decided to go first with its caucus, much to the chagrin of Iowa and New Hampshire, states that normally hold the first-in-the-nation caucus and first-in-the-nation primary, respectively.
Louisiana made this decision over the objections of the Republican Party, so most of the GOP candidates decided to boycott Louisiana and head straight for Iowa and New Hampshire.
But not so for Gramm and Buchanan.
Gramm, thinking he could get an easy early win and (therefore a potential momentum-grabber) in next door Louisiana, decided to participate in its caucus at the risk of offending voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Buchanan, who really didn't care who he offended, saw a possible opening in Louisiana, a strong social conservative state.
Well, as it turned out, Buchanan defeated Gramm in the one-on-one contest in Louisiana, causing Gramm's campaign to begin to melt down.
Gramm was unable to recover from this debacle.
He ended up finishing near the bottom of the pack in Iowa and withdrawing from the race prior to the New Hampshire Primary.
All of that money he had collected during the prior year was left on the table, thanks to a stupid decision and his inability to fend off a weak candidate in a neighboring state.
Bob Dole went on to capture the GOP nomination that year.
So much for money being the "mother's milk" of politics.
However, this is not necessarily the case.
Look at what happened to Rick Perry this year.
He was great at raising money but fell flat as a candidate and soon exited the race.
But the best example of the failure of a big money candidate is former Texas Senator Phil Gramm from the 1996 presidential campaign.
In 1995, Gramm raised more money than any other Republican candidate in preparation for the 1996 campaign.
He often bragged about all the money he had collected, calling it the "mother's milk" of politics.
Because of his money-raising prowess, he became one of the favorites, along with Bob Dole, to capture the GOP presidential nomination.
However, once the nominating season actually got started, he didn't last very long.
Ironically, Gramm was taken down by columnist Pat Buchanan, who never had any real chance of winning the nomination.
In 1996, Louisiana decided to go first with its caucus, much to the chagrin of Iowa and New Hampshire, states that normally hold the first-in-the-nation caucus and first-in-the-nation primary, respectively.
Louisiana made this decision over the objections of the Republican Party, so most of the GOP candidates decided to boycott Louisiana and head straight for Iowa and New Hampshire.
But not so for Gramm and Buchanan.
Gramm, thinking he could get an easy early win and (therefore a potential momentum-grabber) in next door Louisiana, decided to participate in its caucus at the risk of offending voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Buchanan, who really didn't care who he offended, saw a possible opening in Louisiana, a strong social conservative state.
Well, as it turned out, Buchanan defeated Gramm in the one-on-one contest in Louisiana, causing Gramm's campaign to begin to melt down.
Gramm was unable to recover from this debacle.
He ended up finishing near the bottom of the pack in Iowa and withdrawing from the race prior to the New Hampshire Primary.
All of that money he had collected during the prior year was left on the table, thanks to a stupid decision and his inability to fend off a weak candidate in a neighboring state.
Bob Dole went on to capture the GOP nomination that year.
So much for money being the "mother's milk" of politics.