How much do we trust something attributed to a “well-connected Democratic operative” who is unnamed? If this was something significant I might not post it, but will as it is all speculative any ways. Dan Gerstein quotes this “well-connected Democratic operative” as saying that the real reason that Hillary Clinton is concerned about Obama matching her fund raising in the first quarter is that this increases the chances that Al Gore will enter the race.
The theory is that Hillary Clinton is more afraid of Gore as an opponent than Obama, and the muddier the race looks the more likely he will enter. Clinton hoped that her nomination would appear inevitable, scaring off Gore. However, if Hillary looks weak, Gore might be tempted. Of course if Hillary keeps worrying about Gore and ignores the threat from Obama himself, she might find herself in for a surprise next winter.
Update: The Washington Times uses similar logic to consider Obama’s fund raising success a good sign for Richardson and Dodd. In other words, it looks like this might have been a good week for everyone except Hillary Clinton.
