If there is one word that could sum up the MSM reaction to Mitt’s fundraising efforts to date it would be “Surprise”.  Just below the surface – in both Democratic and some Republican circles, you can almost sense another descriptive term – “Concern”.

First we’ll go to the Boston Globe.  Two stories there – Brian Mooney reports Mitt has picked up the endorsement of former Massachusetts governor William F. Weld.  Conventional Wisdom had Weld favoring Guiliani.  Nice pick up for Mitt.   Scott Helman notes with some surprise Mitt’s colossal $6.5 million single day fundraising effort which

…observers say was designed to intimidate rivals looking to challenge him for the conservative vote.

Intimidation? C’mon, Scott.  Its not bragging if you can back it up.

One more important endorsement for Mitt & Company.  South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint has jumped on the bandwagon. 

Other reactions to Mitt’s cash raising bonanza can be found here, here and here.  A priceless quote from Mitt’s National Finance Director Spencer Zwick:

Money talks but early money screams.

That’s right Spence.  Only $93.5 million to go.  Great start, though.  Dean Barnett has no worries about Mitt’s cashflow.  According to Dean

But it’s not just about the money. Under no circumstances would Mitt Romney’s campaign lack for funds. If he wanted to, he could probably self-finance a presidential run with the loose change in between his sofa cushions.

Note to self:  Check Boston area newspapers to see if the Romneys are getting rid of any old sofas. 

From the money stories we go to a very thoughtful article by the American Thinker’s Amy D. Goldstein.  Ms. Goldstein wins today’s Read The Whole Thing prize if for no other reason than she looks at facts and not the many issues which make up the Silly Season’s headline fodder.  Key paragraphs:

America will face some serious and complex problems in the next administration:  social security, Medicare, health care, sustainable energy, the continuing war on terrorists, advancing and supporting democracy in the Middle East, and a host of other foreseen and unforeseen issues.   We need a leader who has a proven record of tackling big problems and solving them.  That man is former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
And, getting the job done is what Romney has done throughout his career.  His record of success reaches back to his business days, when he saw Bain & Company through a successful turnaround as its CEO.  He then took stewardship of the troubled 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.  At the time he took the helm in 1998, the effort had a deficit of $379 million, and fraught with scandal and corruption.  Romney cleaned up the governance and inner workings of the Organizing Committee, and turned the financial problems into a profit. 
 

But, as we approach the “silly season,” other issues get overblown by a zealous liberal press that has relied on scare tactics and innuendo to attack public figures.  Usually this tactic is reserved for the most competent candidates.  For Governor Romney, the issue that the liberal press continues to press is his religion.  Some on the far left seek to scare the radical secularists into believing that should he be elected, Romney will impose his religion on the American people.  Some seek to scare the Evangelical community into thinking that Mormonism is in some way threatening to Protestantism.  Still others seek to paint Romney with the brush of extremism, or portray him as endorsing the extremists in his religion.  Respectfully, these arguments are poppycock. (Emphasis added)
 

One of the better blogging duos following Mitt’s candidacy and the surrounding issues is John and Lowell over at Article VI.  They’re at the top of our blogroll for a reason.  Here are two examples of why that is so.
Till next post!