Giuliani Death Watch Begins ... Now

Maybe you heard that Giuliani's campaign staff was giving up their paychecks this month to keep the campaign flush with cash ... Turns out that it's only a dozen or so members of the staff, but that still doesn't correct the fact that Rudy is now behind in the make-or-break state of Florida.

I think this is where we officially start to say good bye to Hizzoner.

MORE: Giuliani just lost his National Finance Chair too. That can't be good on a day when the campaign is trying to convince people it's not having money problems.

EVEN MORE: Part of the reason Giuliani stands to lose much of his support is that foreign affairs are quickly being displaced by domestic issues as priorities for voters. If terrorism, the war in Iraq or the situation with Iran suddenly recapture the public's consciousness Giuliani might be able to reposition himself as a more viable candidate. This, however, will not help.

MORE STILL: Here are some raw numbers on just how underwhelming Giuliani's money-raising effort has been:

A Giuliani campaign news release today brought word that at the end of 2007 he had $12.7 million cash on hand, but only about $7 million of that could be used in the primaries. That is nowhere near enough to seriously compete in the 22 states that vote on Feb. 5.

[...]

The former mayor launched his presidential bid with the goal of raising more than $100 million in 2007. He didn't come even close. ... Figures for fourth-quarter donations, always the toughest money-raising quarter, are not due to be reported to the Federal Election Commission until the end of this month. ...

By the end of September, Giuliani had gathered in only $44.3 million, with $16.6 million in the bank.