McCain supporters are organizing a money bomb for 08.01.08. I wish them luck, but there are some serious obstacles going against them.

I haven’t seen a swell of online organizing for McCain. There aren’t recent discussions about the money bomb on McCain’s Facebook page. Unlike Rep. Ron Paul’s and Mike Huckabee’s online grassroots efforts McCain’s supporters are scattered all over the internet. There’s no Daily Paul or Huck’s Army for McCain. A place with significant numbers of passionate McCain supporters is needed where people could share ideas and organize marketing to take things viral.

Another point is the design of the money bomb site. It’s ugly.The banners and widget code look easy enough to grab, but the site has such a GeoCities-look that I doubt many will scroll down to get the code (that doesn’t work for me).

The downfall of the Thompson money bomb (I’m still not telling how much was raised) was supporters couldn’t track how much was raised. The red truck wasn’t on the site yet. McCain can’t tap into the interesting behavior of people giving simply to watch the dollar meter go up. (I call it the “video game effect.”) Unless the McCain campaign does something to give supporters feedback a successful money bomb will be hard to accomplish.

Allahpundit worries this could be a disaster for McCain:

anything less than a surprisingly stellar haul will hand the media a ready-made narrative about (a) the enthusiasm gap, (b) the weakness of conservative fundraising online, and (c) the fact that even GOP also-rans have demonstrated more money muscle.

Realize Paul supporters tried two or three times before the first multiple-millions money bomb. And note that the Olympics will be a week later and most voters will forget about a failure. Plus, McCain isn’t known as an internet-powered campaign. The expectations are low. An unsuccessful money bomb will be seen with a “told ya so.” Now, if it brings in six to seven figures it’s good news for McCain. In order to really make that happen the McCain campaign will have to cooperate with fundraising transparency (even if temporary) and push the idea through their e-mail list. If I were at McCain HQ I’d think about a money bomb for the 24-hours after McCain officially gets the nomination.

“Video: Are You Ready for the McCain Money Bomb?”

Jim Geraghty doesn’t like VF equating President Bush with Osama bin Laden.

Party Ben at Mother Jones‘ The Riff thinks the cover is funny. Oh, well. Not everyone has a good sense of humor.

Alan Stewart Carl goes on a sarcastic anti-VF rant.

Daniel Larison doesn’t think the VF parody is good because The New Yorker cover was a satire. Like making a copy of a copy a parody of a satire loses its punch. [via Andrew Sullivan]

Brodiemash enjoys comic art and asks his readers which cover is better.

To Senate Republicans worried they’re being asked to write a blank cheque for federal support to mortgage brontosauruses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson offered an intriguing analogy on Tuesday: “If you’ve got a squirt gun in your pocket, you may have to take it out. If you’ve got a bazooka, and people know you’ve got it … you’re not likely to [have to] take it out.” In other words, give me an unlimited line of credit and I probably won’t have to draw on it. But give me X billion and force me to come back for more in three months after that hasn’t worked, and you’ll persuade people the U. S. government is powerless. Then where will we be?

That shows how the CBO estimates on the Fannie-Freddie rescue run anywhere between zero and $25 billion.

“Henry Paulson’s Bazookanomics”

Two devils, Our Saviour, and Jesus. What a combination.

The sea of Germans drummed up by the Obama campaign will be used as props to tell us Americans how to vote, and the campaign isn’t trying to pretend otherwise. That’s breathtakingly arrogant, and par for the course for Barack Obama.

“Obama Campaign Prints German-Language Flyers for Berlin Rally“

“FDIC Faces Mortgage Mess After Running Failed Bank” [via Protein Wisdom]

Leave your guess in the comments along with a link to a picture for verification.

The point in all of this is that we have been trained to believe that there *is* a free lunch. We have learned the false lesson that we can, or should be able to make money without making any money. We have abandoned the concept of fundamentals. And so, the tech world is frustrated that all the VC turds that used to be flippable can no longer be sold. But as with the larger economy, this is just the chickens coming home to roost.

My view on this is relatively simple. You must make money if you want people to buy you.

The money you make must not be a gimmick. It must be money you are making because you are adding real long term value to customers. If you make a lot of money, you can sell your company to a larger company, or you can take it public. The concept of IPO is not dead forever. But the idea of IPOing crap probably is.

Making money is about getting people to believe you’re adding value to their lives. On the internet it can be either paying customers who see what they’re getting for the price or advertisers who believe they’re getting quality traffic and brand development. If neither of them see value from your product they’ll dump you for someone else. Data traveling by packets across the globe don’t change that piece of human nature. But since it’s part of who we are we’re stuck relearning the lessons again and again.

Let me take this to the political level. President Bush did well in pushing for tax cuts, but he failed to control the spending. We’re now in a political economic situation where the Bush tax cuts are likely to expire. Had President Bush done the heavy lifting of opposing a big-spending GOP Congress the economy wouldn’t be facing a higher tax burden.

“The Real Reason IPOs And Mergers Are Down”