If the Democrats are demoralized, they have a funny way of showing it. Howard Dean, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, tells the Associated Press that the DNC has raised $3.4 million in the last three weeks -- more than double the amount it raised in a similar time period just after George Bush took office four years ago.
That's the good news for Democrats. The bad news: The AP says that the Republicans had a 6-1 cash advantage over the Democrats at the beginning of February. The DNC has raised $9.6 million so far this year; the Republicans raised $10.5 million in January alone.
Dean told the AP that he's happy with the progress Democrats are making. "We're just delighted the fund raising is going better than we had dared to hope," he said. Democrats stress that Dean has been helping state parties raise money -- efforts that aren't reflected in the DNC totals -- and that the DNC hasn't yet put out a new internet solicitation. Dean promises that will come "sooner rather than later."
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