Mitt Romney announced a group of people from his national Finance Committee. Hotlineblog has good commentary that I’ll just quote:
But one new name stands out: Ted Welch, the Tennessee investment banker who masterminded Sen. Lamar Alexander‘s (R-TN) $20 million haul in 1996 and who, since he the RNC’s finance chair in 1977, has been one of the party’s most proficient and generous fundraisers.
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Also on the list: Mark Guzzetta, a Florida developer who is close to the Bush family, and to ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush, in particular, and Tom Tellefsen, a Bush Pioneer who is president of Tellefsen investments in CA.
The last paragraph is kind of interesting:
On Monday, dozens of Romney’s closest friends will take over a ballroom in South Boston and spend the day dialing for donors. Several Republican donors said Romney hopes to raise at least $30 million by the end of June.
His targets are behind Rudy Giuliani’s. This actually suggests another problem for Giuliani. A standard strategy in politics is "under-promise, over-deliver". Companies do the same thing with profits (and the budget office does too) by predicting less growth/sales/revenue/profit than they think they will get. In essence, Giuliani is promising to raise money at twice the rate as Romney is. If I was Rudy, I’m not sure that I would have made that public commitment.
Speaking of the Mayor, he announced a communications staff (communications? I want to see field. Where the hell is the field staff? This is a weird campaign):
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) continues to add political talent to his inner circle in expectation of a 2008 presidential bid. The newest members of Team Hizzoner are Katie Levinson and Maria Comella.
Levinson will serve as a senior adviser to Giuliani and will be tasked with setting up his national communications operation. Comella will coordinate the campaign’s regional media operations, including in the key early states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
