Setting the Bar

As several presidential candidates mined California this week for precious campaign cash, the expectations game also was afoot as the June 30 deadline neared for second quarter fundraising reports.

In Washington on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton insisted she would be not be bothered a bit if, as has been widely speculated, Barack Obama outpaces her in the money contest. "It would mean nothing to my campaign," she scoffed. "Nothing at all." (ABC News has the comment on video).

Indeed, she indicated that the more any Democrat raises, the better.

"That shows the appetitie for change" she said at a news conference attended by the Times' Michael Finnegan. "For me," she added, "all I care about is we're going to have enough to have the resources we need to run a winning campaign, and we will."

Not much to worry about there, given that she raised about $26 million in the first quarter and, just to be on the safe side, transferred $10 million from her Senate campaign fund to her presidential warchest.

Clinton called her news conference to promote the latest in a string of endorsements she's racking up from prominent Latino politicians. This one came from Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey; others already in her corner include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California House Speaker Fabian Nunez.

— Don Frederick

Photo: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.); Credit: Shawn Thew / EPA