Stephen Dinan The Washington Times - October 16, 2007, 03:33PM
declared the Arizona senator toast McCain SEE RELATED:

Federal Election Commission

\ McCain has $1.67 million cash on hand available for the primary, but reported to the FEC yesterday a debt of $1.73 million.\

\ My colleague, Ralph Z. Hallow, first reported last month on how serious the problems were at the McCain campaign and how disappointing the FEC figures would be. The question now is: Does McCain survive long enough to collect a federal bailout of his campaign through matching funds, or does he fold before that?\

\ On the other hand, with Rep. Ron Paul reporting more than $5 million raised in the last quarter and more than $5 million cash on hand, will reporters reassess how they see his campaign and elevate him to higher-tier status?\

\ — Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times