And another one falls...

This just in from the CNN Political Ticker:

Democrat Tom Vilsack is abandoning his bid for the presidency after struggling against better-known, better-financed rivals, a senior campaign official told The Associated Press on Friday.

All I can do is shake my head.

Gov. Vilsack had a compelling story, being abandoned by his birth parents and adopted as a child. He could have put several Midwestern states in play and would have been difficult to peg as an "Iowa liberal." But now he has gone by the wayside and joined the shattered husks of Feingold, Warner, and Bayh--all centrists, with the exception of Feingold, the only candidate (other than Kucinich) who was in the Senate at the time of the Iraq War Authorization Act and actually voted against it.

I posted earlier about the problem with money in politics, and this is why. It's a catch-22. In order to become "better known," you need to be "better-financed." But in order to be "better-financed," you have to be "better-known." So poor Vilsack was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. He tried his heart out, but he couldn't generate much buzz about his campaign, even in Iowa, the state where he served as a successful governor!

This race, at least on the Democratic side, really is about Hillary and Obama, with Edwards on the perimeter! Everyone else is struggling for oxygen. And the sad thing about this scenario is that the most electable and most formidable Democrats in the general election are the ones who are in the second tier! Biden and Dodd most certainly do NOT need on the job training, as they know how Washington works. Richardson is the dream candidate that nobody has heard of. And Gen. Wesley Clark hasn't formally declared, but his military record could blunt that of McCain and rival Giuliani's national security credentials.

But no, everyone wants to talk about the polarizing Hillary, the unproven Obama, and the slick and similarly inexperienced Edwards. It's almost like I can see into the future and predict the Democrats' third consecutive electoral demise in the presidential sweepstakes. The longer this stupid Hillary vs. Obama storyline goes on, the more I fear that the Democrats will steal defeat from the jaws of victory. Republicans are much more pragmatic when it comes to selecting their nominees. That's why you see so many on the right giving Giuliani a serious look, despite their divergent views on social issues.

Who benefits from Vilsack's failed campaign? I honestly think Richardson stands to gain the most because, if my memory serves me correctly, Richardson is the last remaining Democratic candidate with gubernatorial (read: executive) experience. People have talked about Vilsack being a stalking horse for Hillary, but don't look for him to endorse her. I wouldn't be surprised if he endorsed another second tier candidate because the Hillaries and Obamas of the world are the very people that forced him out of the race.

The whole system is broken.