Money changes, well, many things...

...but not, contrary to the tune, quite everything. Not in politics, anyway.

Although I'm generally sympathetic to campaign finance reform, I've long felt that the role of cash in elections is a little over-rated. While it's true that a candidate needs enough money (ie, suffient to buy the number of impressions needed to deliver a message through the appropriate media), that doesn't mean that the candidate with the most money will win. The content of the message and selection of the media do matter, and big bucks sometimes do lose.

Instructive examples from the recent Seattle City Council contests are offered up by Joel Connelly...

"No incumbent in Seattle City Council history ever collected a campaign war chest the size of that raised by Heidi Wills. No challenger ever started out as well-financed as Kollin Min.

Wills and Min took in, between them, nearly $400,000. Just goes to show that money isn't everything. Min finished fourth and out of the running in the primary. Wills was upset by a 10,000-vote margin in the general election."