Jonathan Martin reports on the outdated 4th Quarter financial disclosures:
Mitt Romney contributed $18 million of his own money to his campaign in the fourth quarter, more than he had put in the first three quarters combined.
Romney also raised $9 million during the quarter and wound up with $2.43 million on hand.
The campaign, wanting to draw as little attention as possible to Romney's self-funding, waited until almost 10 O'clock to release the figures. In the first three quarters, the multimillionaire contributed a total of $17.4 million to his own bid.
What is unknown is just how much Romney put in and spent during the month of January. Given the campaign's heavy TV spending, his total personal contribution is likely now at $40 million or above.
John McCain raised $6.8 million for the quarter and was left with 2.9 million on hand at the end of December. But, in a reminder of his financial woes last year, he also had to take out a line of credit of $3 million and still carried a debt of $4.5 million.
For both candidates, however, these figures are outdated. In Romney's case, especially, what he brought in or had on hand a month ago matters little. Paramount is just how much of their fortune he and his wife, Ann, want to spend on this campaign. And for McCain, the world looks very different now than it did on December 31st. He's the undisputed front-runner and, because of it, is seeing fundraisers sign up to help and cash coming in the door at a rapid clip.
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