TV advertising is a big cost. They also employ staffs for each state they're campaigning in. They travel a lot every day -- each stop can usually be measured in minutes. Maybe an hour for lunch or an hour for a proper speech. Some candidates just blow off certain states that they figure they're either a shoe-in or it's a lost cause. Many candidates also spend a lot of their own money on their campaigns.
I don't like the idea of blowing so much cash on "
winning" the contest either, but if you don't raise some money and spend it wisely, you're toast.
Ideally, candidates would be judged purely on their platform, in a blind vote (voters wouldn't know if the candidate was a woman, a black or had three noses). Simply vote on the issues and the nation gets who they voted for ... ain't gonna happen.
