I am shocked! Totally shocked!! /sarc
With the shortened time span of critical primaries in Iowa, NH, SC, FL, NV etc, it is becoming urgent to support Cain with campaign donations. If the money boys win the initial primaries, I am afraid it will be too late to turn the ship.
I think the shortened time span will backfire on the "money boys". Cain is hot right now and getting media saturation for practically free - if he racks up a couple of big primary wins early on, he's going to suck the wind right out of the establishment sails. You would think that additional time would work in favor of the establishment as the excitement over Cain is bound to peak soon and they (the establishment) have the funds to run a perpetual campaign (as Mitt Romney has been showing us for the past few years).
I think a lot of pundits are overestimating the importance of having a huge amount of campaign money and having a large ground organization in place. We are truly in a new era as the majority of American now get their news on the Internet and nobody answers their phones at home anymore, making those phone blitzes of yesteryear mostly a waste of money and resources. Ditto for going door-to-door like they used to do.
Money is the key. The compressed time schedule favors well financed campaigns, namely Romney’s and Perry’s.