Well, we survived another week of sweltering summer weather, sort of.

I never thought I would write that sentence while living on the Maine coast. It looks like some climate change is occurring, at least that is what scientists, like the now retired Bigelow Lab guru Barney Balch, tell us – and he and his cohorts have studied that topic for years. But I digress. Sorry.

The other thing that seems to be changing is the temperature of the presidential race. For the record, I know some folks want me to write that it is all but over for their favored candidate, that the electorate will somehow decide that Grandpa Don will win in a landslide.

Others want this space to conclude that the Veep will magically turn into Wonder Woman and slay her wise-cracking opponent. Hold on, gang. The latest polls seem to tell us the race is neck and neck. Well, we have less than 100 days until the election. Both sides are gearing up for a battle. It is not over, by a long shot.
Once Grandpa Joe dropped out, Demo supporters, who wondered if the 81-year-old POTUS was getting a bit old in the tooth for the toughest job in the world, became energized.

One indicator of the change is the speed at which the Veep’s supporters opened their wallets. The latest reports from both sides show she has grabbed $310 million in new money, with $200 million coming from first-time donors.

Grandpa Don's friends raised $137 million in the same timeframe, and that is not chopped liver either.

The total reported take shows she is a bit ahead, stuffing a total of $377 million in her bucket to his total of $327 million. It looks like both sides will have plenty of lettuce to fund the salaries, travel expenses, fancy hotels with fancy restaurants, and miscellaneous unspecified expenses of the gaggle of consultants, pollsters, aides, relatives and assorted go-fers that seem to be attracted to a major political campaign.

But the money they raise and use can make a difference. For example, once upon a time, in a town far, far away, I had a pal who confessed to me that he once needed a bunch of money to fund a phone bank to urge voters to get off their duffs and vote for his guy.

But my pal didn’t have the money, and he asked national campaign staffers for advice. They told him to call a top aide to the candidate. He did and was ordered to fly to Washington, where he met with the aforementioned top political aide and pleaded for help. OK, that sounds right, he was told. And the top aide went to a safe, whirled the dials, and pulled out $50,000 in cash.

My surprised pal stuffed the cash into his briefcase and flew back home. He did not check this briefcase with the other baggage. He said he hugged it in his arms until the jet landed. And yes, his candidate was elected.

I tell you this story to indicate that while we focus on policy, like the crisis at the border, inflation, court rulings, and even side events, like the laptop linked to Hunter Biden, until Rudolph William Louis Giuliani got his hands on it, money, lots of it, is more important.

Money is more important to the outcome than talking heads who engage in clever political wisecracks and nasty name-calling. Sometimes the rest is just noise.

In Washington circles, money is known as the mother’s milk of politics. So if you want to learn how a candidate is doing, ignore the polls, especially those released by the campaigns, and look to the fundraising numbers.

I want to pause political prose and celebrate last week's news about the quartet of American hostages freed from Russian prisons, thanks to the efforts of our government.

Welcome home Evan Gerskovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter – and Bowdoin grad.

Welcome back to former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

Welcome home to a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe, Alsu Kurmasheva. And welcome back Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition leader who is a legal American immigrant.

I know some folks bad-mouthed the terms of the hostage release deal, but whatever the cost, it brought our folks back home. The back-channel negotiators, diplomats and political figures quietly worked with our foreign friends, and they deserve our thanks.

It felt good to watch the hostages walk off the planes into the arms of their families. For once, the top story on national news outlets did not feature disaster, war, tragedy and scandal. A heartfelt family hug can be the best news of all.

It is good to celebrate some good news for a change. Enjoy it while you can.