McCain Campaign On Life Support?

Earlier this week there was talk of McCain dropping out of the race by Septempber, but Don Surber has a story that seems to indicate the exit might be much sooner:

Terry Nelson, campaign manager for McCain, sent out an e-mail soliciting funds. I will quote the whole thing later but here is the nut paragraph:

Remember that each donation you make, no matter if it is $100 or $1,000, will go toward helping us reach our goal of raising $3 million by June 30th.

$3 million? That’s it? That is not even 1/4 of the measly $13 million he raised in the first 3 months — an effort that was well behind the $23 million Mitt raised and the $16 million that Rudy raised.

And both of them were thumped in money grubbing by Hillary and Obama.

Surber points out the the campaign is on life support and while last minute pitches for money are not unusual in the days just prior to the fundraising deadline, the whole text of the email smacks of desperation. Here is teh full text courtesy of Surber:

Summer is officially here and I don’t know about you, but to me summer has always been a time to enjoy outdoor activities with friends and family. No matter what your summer activities may include, I’m sure you’ll want to stand out from the crowd as a John McCain supporter.

One way you can stand out is with the official McCain 2008 polo shirt with a generous donation today of $100 or more. With a donation of $150 or more, we’ll send you two polo shirts.

As supporters of John McCain, we know that he is the right man to lead our nation as we face tough challenges. Now is the time to stand with the Senator and show our support for him. We know that John McCain is the right man to reduce wasteful spending in Washington, serve as our Commander in Chief and fight for our common sense conservative values in the White House. As his team of supporters, it is our job to ensure he gets to the White House.

Folks, we are only three days away from our next important campaign deadline. June 30th marks the end of the second quarter, and our campaign will be filing our financial statement with the FEC. Your immediate help is needed to meet our goal during these final three days.

Remember that each donation you make, no matter if it is $100 or $1,000, will go toward helping us reach our goal of raising $3 million by June 30th. And with your contribution of $100 or more today, we will send you an official McCain 2008 polo shirt.

Gifts and such are not uncommon, but polo shirts cost money and while it is less than $100 per shirt, the expense does not justify the contribution.

This is probably a sign of defeat--at least Tom Vilsack had enough pride to say he couldn't go it, McCain will have to be proven that he has no legs in this campaign.