PoliticalDerby.com

With the deadline for second quarter fund raising looming, the campaigns of two Johns could face serious questions to their viability, while Clinton, Obama, Giuliani and Romney are all expected to post totals similar to, if not greater than, their first quarter numbers.

A story on Bloomberg.com points out that fund raising is a test of a “candidates ability to meet expectations.” Here’s more:

“If you’re not showing the ability to raise substantial amounts and start to pile up cash by this point, it’s increasingly difficult to see how a candidate is going to be able to win the nomination,” said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Although the death of the Immigration bill is probably a good thing for John McCain, his machine is still leaking oil worse than an Exxon tanker in Alaska:

McCain, more than any other candidate, can’t afford a fundraising dip, said Rogan Kersh, associate dean of New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. After the first quarter, McCain overhauled his fundraising operation, though he continues to struggle with donors and has dropped steadily in national polls.

John Edwards may be on the verge of dropping out of the first tier, and can hear the second tier horses coming up on him fast:

The key among three other Democrats — New Mexico Governor Richardson and Senators Dodd of Connecticut and Biden of Delaware — will be who raises more than the others and who comes close to or eclipses Edwards.

It cannot possibly be a good sign for Edwards that Bill Richardson has tied him in a recent New Hampshire poll and that Richardson may actually come close to or even overtake Edwards in second quarter fund raising. If you’ve watched any of the Democratic debates you should know that Richardson is the same horse that could be outperformed by Mr. Ed in a debate if given the chance.