Right now, our national debt stands at $9 trillion and is growing at a rate of $1.44 billion PER DAY. Most, if not all, of our income taxes go towards paying the INTEREST on the national debt. Government spending is out of control, prices are going up, and the value of the dollar is at an all time low. Our economy is on the verge of a financial crisis, and if things don't change soon, it will be left to our children and grandchildren to pay for our government's fiscal irresponsibility.

Recently, a lot of figures have been tossed around about third quarter fundraising. Most news reports have been fairly positive about Ron Paul's $5.1 million take, however, the true picture is still being distorted. News coverage has focused on how much money each candidate raised in the third quarter, however this number is pretty much meaningless going into the fourth quarter. If you raised $30 million, but spent $30 million, you're still broke. You don't actually have any money in the bank to spend on advertising and other expenses in the months leading up to the primaries. It's simple economics. You cannot spend what do not have. If you do, that's called DEBT.

So, when the media focuses on amount of money raised, Ron Paul ranks 5th, just behind McCain:

Q3 Raised
Romney = $18,396,719
Thompson = $12,828,111
Giuliani = $11,624,255
McCain = $ 5,734,478
Paul = $ 5,258,456
Huckabee = $ 1,034,486

These are the numbers the MSM reports most often. They want people to think that Ron Paul is still on the outside looking in. However, the truth is, Ron Paul is in much better shape than they would like to admit. The true measure of financial stability is NOT total money raised, it's cash in hand minus debts. This is the amount of money that a candidate actually has avaiable to spend on advertising and such going into the fourth quarter. To find this information, go to OpenSecrets.org:

For each candidate, I calculated the Total Cash In Hand Minus Debts to get the NET Cash in Hand:

NET Cash in Hand

Giuliani = $16,480,570
Thompson = $ 6,443,312
Paul = $ 5,443,667
McCain = $ 1,757,937
Huckabee = $ 603,491
Brownback= $ 94,654
Hunter = $ 82,742

Keyes = -$ 247
Tancredo = -$ 185,524
Romney = -$ 8,133,483

It's also interesting to look at how much debt each of the candidates accumulated:

Total Debts

Paul = ($0)
Brownback = ($0)
Keyes = ($12,876)
Huckabee = ($47,810)
Hunter = ($50,000)
Giuliani = ($169,256)
Tancredo = ($295,603)
Thompson = ($678,432)
McCain = ($1,730,691)
Romney = ($17,350,000)

So, now what does all this have to do with the national debt??? Well, in my opinion, I think the way a candidate runs his campaign is a pretty good indicator of how he would run the country. So, let's take a look at each of the contending candidates.

Romney is by far the most fiscally irresponsible of the bunch, running up $17.35 million in debt. He doesn't care though, he's already written himself a check for $17.4 million, and I'm sure he'll write a few more before all is said and done. Without his own bank account, who knows where his campaign would be. He has to bus people in to vote in straw polls and pay college students to run fair booths and put up signs. He's obviously trying to buy himself an election. Problem is, what's he going to do if he wins the presidency? Write a check for $9 trillion? I didn't think so.

John McCain has not run a financially smart campaign. Using the 3Q numbers, the MSM has tried to paint the picture that Ron Paul is creeping up McCains heels, when in reality, Ron Paul passed him three months ago. McCain's campaign and fundraising are going south and Ron Paul's is gaining momentum. McCain is hurting so much, that he's probably going to take public financing to keep his campaign afloat. So, if a guy can't be financially responsible with his own campaign, how can he be expected to fix the financial woes of the country?

Huckabee may be a decent speaker, throwing out anecdotes and catchy one-liners, but when it comes to substance and support, the numbers just aren't there. Even after his second place showing in Ames, he managed to raise just $1.034 million in three months. In contrast, Ron Paul raised $1.2 million in the last week of the third quarter. So as for Huckabee, stick a fork in him ...

So, other than Ron Paul, the only two candidates who have run fiscally smart and successful campaigns thus far are Giuliani and Thompson. They do have more money than Paul, so now the question for them is, what would they do to get spending under control, improve the economy for the poor and middle class, and get our national debt under control?

Giuliani is the most gung-ho neo-con of the bunch. He does not believe in national defense, he believes in national OFFENSE. In other words, we must spare no expense to fight terrorism around the world. He wants to keep funding the Iraq War, he's itching to strike at Iran, and he wants to show the world that he's a tough guy when it comes to terrorism. Never mind that this type of interventionist foreign policy would promote more terrorism and incite more hatred for Americans than ever before. That aside, Guiliani is apparently not aware that WARS ARE EXPENSIVE!!! The price tag on the Iraq War is going to reach $1 trillion next year. Four more years of the "War on Terror" will cost trillions of dollars, not to mention the cost in lives. Does he understand that more American soldiers have died in the Iraq War than were killed on 9/11? Guiliani clearly does not care about our economy. He does not care about the debt. He does not care about your children. The only thing he does care about, is power.

Finally, we have good ol' Fred Thompson. The only reason he has so much money to campaign with is because he's NOT CAMPAIGNING!!! He has shown the enthusiasm of a rock. He avoids public appearances like the plague. He has to ask people to applaud him. He's trying to coast into the elections on name recognition alone. On the rare occasion when he does speak, he shows that he doesn't have a clue. He is completely out of touch with the American people. Entertainers often are. In the ONE debate he has appeared in thus far, he was asked the following question:

"In a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, two-thirds of the American people said that we are either in a recession or headed toward one. Do you agree with that?"

His response?

"I think there is no reason to believe that we're headed for a recession. We're enjoying 22 quarters of successive economic growth that started 2001 and then further in 2003 with the tax cuts that we put in place. We're enjoying low inflation. We're enjoying low unemployment. The stock market seems to be doing pretty well. I see no reason to believe we're headed for an economic downturn. I think if you look at the short term, it's rosy. I think if you look at a 10-year projection, it's rosy."

So, apparently 2/3 of Americans are worrying for nothing. Never mind that the housing market has tanked, college tuition and health care costs are skyrocketing, and the dollar is at an all time low. The only candidate who understands this is Ron Paul. This was his response to that question:

"Today, this country is in the middle of a recession for a lot of people. Michigan knows about it. Poor people know about it. The middle class knows about it. Wall Street doesn't know about it. Washington, D.C., doesn't know about it."

People like Thompson and Guiliani and Romney just don't get it. They are out of touch with the American public. They promise to cut taxes, yet somehow they want to keep funding wars and reduce the national debt. Their fuzzy math just doesn't add up.

Finally, let's look at Ron Paul's campaign numbers and spending philosophy. First, only Brownback and Paul have accumulated $0 debt. I guess they know how to pay their bills on time. Paul was the only candidate among the top contendars who raised more money in the third quarter than in the second ... 114% more!!! He spends each dollar carefully, like it's his own. He doesn't have to pay for buses to shuttle in supporters for straw polls. His volunteers spend lot of money out of their own pocket to campaign for him. Ron Paul is an expert on monetary policy. He serves on the House Banking Committee. He has taken on Fed Chairman Bernanke and called him out on the Fed's immoral practices. He's also the only candidate who understands that the best way to get our economy in order is to stop fighting wars, make serious cuts in government spending, and respect the Constitution.

So, I ask my question again. Who do YOU trust to pay down the national debt???