It’s going to be hard for the 2008 election industry to ignore what happened in Ron Paul’s campaign this last week. Some are going to to report it, so others won’t want to be seen as missing a real story. Maybe you recall the press he got at the end of last quarter, when it was learned he had more cash on hand than McCain. Once that got out, news outlets were compelled to deal with it. It’s a matter of getting the snowball rolling, and this might do it, again.

A little less than a week ago, Paul’s campaign set out to finish the quarter with a bang, by raising a half-million in the final five days of the quarter. When that goal was hit at about the halfway point, they increased the goal to $1 million. At this writing, they stand at having raised  $1,057,000 and there’s still nearly a day left.

I don’t vote, but I did kick in $200 for my part, and I’ll continue to do so over time. I still think actually winning is a very long shot, but it’s worth getting his message out. Just seeing the cheers he gets in the various debates, as well as winning most of them in the Internet and call in polls (until those get swept under the rug by powers who find such results embarrassing) is worth it. All of this ignoring of Paul has been predicated on the notion that his campaign can’t possibly contend seriously, so he’ll eventually go away. It’s about the only thing they can do. If they’re right, no one will care they did their best to ignore and marginalize him; and if they’re wrong, it will be irrelevant. And money talks. The news media is going to promote anyone’s campaign that has significant dollars to spend in political advertising over the next year on their networks. Paul is closing in on such levels.