Clinton raises $13m in January

So Senator Clinton raised $13m to Senator Obama's $32m in January. This is a rather remarkable development no matter which camp you are in. It means many things but most of all it raises the stakes for Clinton tomorrow. If she is not a decisive victor tomorrow there will start to be real questions about her ability to match the machine that Obama has built, particularly over the next month of primaries, when another 15 or so states vote.

Without the big infusion of money that a clear victory brings, it will be very likely that her campaign will need to lay off staff, or skip campaign appearances, or decrease spending on ads and other voter contact options to keep pace with Obama's now much better funded effort. None of these choices are good ones, and while money does not make a candidate, at this point given how close every thing is, it could make a big difference - even a decisive difference.

For more on my thoughts on the Obama machine visit my recent post here.