Barack Obama has raised $25 million for his campaign to be president of the United States .  Hillary Clinton has raised $26 million plus an extra $10 million transferred over from her senatorial campaign.  John Edwards has raised more than $14 million to date for his presidential run.  The other democratic candidates for president fall somewhere down the line from there as far as their fundraising efforts. 

Over on the republican side, Mitt Romney blew away his rivals with a $23 million fundraising effort.  John McCain followed with $12.5 million and Sam Brownback has raised over $1.9 million including $575,000 transferred from his recent senatorial campaign effort.  The rest of the republican field trails behind. 

Federal Election Commission chairman, Michael Toner, has stated that the 2008 U.S.  presidential race will be the most expensive in American history.  Mr. Toner estimates that the 2008 presidential campaign will be a $1 billion election and that to be taken seriously a candidate will need to raise at least $100 million by the end of 2007. 

What a sad commentary on the American election scene that the amount of money raised is indicative of the candidate’s leadership capabilities.  No longer are principle, integrity, and allegiance to the United States Constitution a factor in the ability of a candidate to lead properly.  Due to the lucrativeness of the position and the power that has been usurped from the Constitution, getting elected is all about power and money. 

All of the current candidates, both democrat and republican, pay lip service, if they even pay that much attention, to the United States Constitution, the document they swear to uphold.  All, that is, except one. 

Representative Dr. Ron Paul, from the 14^th congressional district in Texas , is the only candidate of the bunch seeking the office of President of the United States that truly believes that an elected official ought and must adhere to the United States Constitution.  As a representative in congress, he consistently votes in favor of the Constitution because he understands the fiduciary trust placed in him by the individuals who elect him.  He votes in favor of the Constitution because he understands, as did the founders of America , the awesome and devastating power of government force.  Dr. Paul understands that it takes taxes to pay for all government expenditures and that if those expenditures are paid for through inflation, it is the worse and most insidious tax perpetrated upon the American people. 

All of the other candidates, whether democrat or republican, vote to spend the hard earned dollars of taxpayers on education, transportation, health care, Social Security, Medicare, communication, and the myriad of other government expenditures to the tune of almost $3 trillion for this coming fiscal year.  By definition, those candidates favor the extortion, through taxation and inflation, of all Americans to pay for those activities teaching individuals that all government funding is free to everyone. 

Dr. Ron Paul has so far only raised about $500,000 for his campaign for the presidency, but it is not the money that is indicative of his leadership capabilities.  What matters most is Ron Paul’s dedication and allegiance to the document he has always sworn to uphold, the United States Constitution. 

America is desperately in need of real leadership.  It does not need more of the same that has taken place in the past.  Just because Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Romney, Mr. McCain, and others have raised millions upon millions of dollars and will no doubt have to raise and will raise millions more is no indication of the type of leadership that is truly needed in America today if America is to survive as the free society it was established to be. 

Examining how candidates respect the United States Constitution, not how much money they can raise so they can distribute taxpayer money to as many individuals they can promise, is the key to finding the individual with the proper skills to lead a free people.

Tomorrow, Thursday, April 12, at 7 PM, at the Yuma Community Food Bank conference hall, the People for the USA Yuma group will host Luis Heredia, a representative of the Union Pacific Railroad’s proposed Gateway Project.  Mr. Heredia will discuss Yuma County serving as the U.S. entry point for a rail line from a proposed deep water seaport in Punta Colonet , Baja California to the United States .  The meeting is open to the public.