Thompson's fundraising not blowing rivals away

Washington (CNN) -- The high-flying, but unofficial campaign of former Sen. Fred Thompson raised $3.4 million in June, not the kind of "blow-them-away" money some of the Tennessee Republican's supporters had hoped.

Alex Vogel, a Republican strategist not affiliated with a campaign, put it bluntly, "You can't make it to the White House when you are only raising $3 million a month."

One Republican strategist, also unaffiliated, asked "If John McCain is damaged because he only raised $11-and-a-half million [in the second quarter], how is Fred Thompson a juggernaut with $3 million?"

Team Thompson begs to differ, calling its 9,167 donors "inspiring," and supporters note it's the beginning, not the end.

Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tennessee, predicted once Thompson becomes a candidate, he'll raise "plenty" of money, and Wamp said Thompson's other numbers (he often runs second or third in national and state polls) mean money is "not as big an issue" as most people make it out to be.

Regardless of how one interprets the $3.4 million, it is clear that the man from Tennessee, viewed as a kind of knight on a white horse by some in the GOP, is getting muddied up.

In the past few weeks, his time as a Washington lawyer and lobbyist has come under scrutiny, as has the depth of his anti-abortion position.

And Thompson has already shaken up his staff at the urging of his wife, who is said to be taking a dominant role in a campaign that is basically running on tease.

The former GOP senator is fond of telling audiences that he has no announcement to make, but he'll be around a lot very soon.

There are signs the act is getting old.

At the moment, sources say Thompson will officially kick off his campaign in early September. That's not soon enough for Wamp, who cites "pent up demand" at the grassroots.

Wamp, a strong Thompson supporter, says he thinks "August should be the definitive month [so] September can be the month that we rock-and-roll."

Rocking and rolling will have to include raising some real money. Thompson strategists have sights set on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the fall.

The way they see it, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will fade because of what they see as his fundamental differences with the conservative core of the Republican Party.

That, so the theory goes, leaves Romney as the one to beat, and Romney is a candidate with very deep pockets. E-mail to a friend

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