Jeb's $3,000 per vote: Our view

The great economist, philosopher and social critic Cyndi Lauper was not entirely correct. Money doesn’t change everything, just some things.

It hasn’t changed much for former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. Bush's super PAC spent $14.9 million on advertising in Iowa before this week's GOP caucuses there. And he ended up in sixth place with 5,238 votes, which comes to $2,845 per vote.

Bush follows in the footsteps of other presidential aspirants who proved that money, while necessary, is not sufficient. Back in 1980, former Texas governor John Connally raised and spent the then-enormous sum of $11 million on a presidential bid that netted him a grand total of one delegate to the GOP convention. More recently, in 1996 and 2000, publishing heir Steve Forbes spent about $37 million and $32 million of his own money in failed attempts to win the GOP nomination.

And after Obama was re-elected in 2012, Republican operative Karl Rove came under intense criticism when his PACs failed to deliver much after sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into the presidential race and numerous other races down ballot.

As the levels of spending on this year’s election reach astronomical proportions, these results provide some comfort that all the money in the world can't overcome a flawed candidate, at least at the highest levels of American politics.

At the same time, it would be naive in the extreme to conclude that money can’t buy political outcomes and access for donors.

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Money makes a huge difference in determining who sits in the House of Representatives. One key reason that so few incumbent members are ever defeated is that they have access to money not available to challengers. Special interest groups favor incumbents with money because they have watched them vote and have a good idea how responsive they will be to their interests in the future. Challengers represent more of a gamble.

Money also buys legislative results. Perhaps the most galling current example involves Puerto Rico. Hedge funds and other investors have snapped up much of the island's debt at a steep discount, then plied Congress with money to deny Puerto Rican cities and state-owned businesses the right to file for bankruptcy protection, much as their counterparts in the 50 states can.

Since few people outside of Puerto Rico care much about the issue, and as the funds contributed nearly $40 million in the last presidential election cycle to influence a variety of issues, don’t count on the bankruptcy option being approved anytime soon.

Money is clearly corrosive to America’s 240-year-old experiment with democracy. But it has its worst effects when it flows into unfamiliar dark corners, not the white-hot glare of a presidential race.

As for Bush, he might or might not see his prospects improve as he travels to states more receptive to his campaign pitch. So far, though, his massive war chest has neither shocked nor awed.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

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