Obama rains on Clinton's parade as candidates lap up campaign cash.

Permit me, if you will, to leave you Robert Novak's political assessment of the fund-raising news of the week for the political candidates in lieu of my analysis. Here's an excerpt, with Democrats first up:

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) may have raised the most money in the first quarter of 2007, but the real winner in the money race will be Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton's campaign has not yet released the amount of her $36 million ($26 million raised and $10 million transferred from her Senate account) that can be applied to the Democratic presidential primary.

Obama nearly beat her in funds raised ($25 million), and he will likely beat her in another important measure: He had far more donors (around 100,000) who gave smaller amounts. Of the $25 million raised, $23.5 million can be applied to the Democratic presidential primary. Donors are permitted under federal law to give $2,300 to the primary and the same amount for the general election, but the general-election money being collected by candidates now cannot be used in the primary.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) made a respectable showing with $14 million, $13 million of which is primary money. This is certainly enough to remain competitive for now.

On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) came out on top, raising $23 million. By tapping into the financial world (his professional home) and the Mormon world (his religious home, and one of the wealthiest demographics in the United States), Romney has kept himself well in the race, despite recent poll numbers -- which at this point mean little anyway.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) was impressive in another way, since he started so late and still managed to raise $15 million -- $10 million of it in one month.

The biggest loser is Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the former frontrunner who was reportedly caught off guard by the vigor of other candidates' efforts. To be sure, McCain's $12.5 million would have been a record if not for the other candidates' showings. But the maverick candidate of 2000 now finds himself trailing among the top three. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) confirmed everyone's fears about his fundraising by bringing in just $1.9-million, including a $575,000 transfer from his Senate account.
So while Obama rained on Clinton's parade, so to speak, the SAD story is that American Democracy has degenerated into a money chasing (and in my view, an influence peddling) PATHETIC affair. Anyone else feel the same?

Update: Below are the REAL Presidential Front Runners: