Romney; Money

At some point, the media will have to wake up to the fact that Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is barely more than a self-funded, Steve Forbes-esque vanity project.

Based on the report Romney filed with the Federal Election Commission over the weekend, his spending was so prolific he had to lend his committee $6.5 million during the quarter, allowing him to cover the difference between $20.5 million he spent and the $14 million he raised.

That loan also means that, for all intents and purposes, Romney has personally paid for every second of the $4.9 million in television ads his campaign has aired since he formally declared his candidacy in February.

No matter how much of his fortune he burns through, Romney has zero chance of becoming president.

As Digby observes, religious conservatives are already shanking him in the back. The sad fact is that he is trying to win the nomination of a party whose candidate selection process is held hostage by religious bigots. Romney is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but even if he spent every last penny on his campaign, he could not buy his way out of that hole and into the Oval Office.