Alright, let's try posting about fundraising again, slightly less hastily.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's fourth quarter fundraising report is in. The numbers are solid but not overwhelming.

She raised $224,424.05 from October to December of 2009. During that same time she spent $88,883.88, leaving her with $362,406.20 in her coffers.

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Of her $224,000, $59,014.05 came from individuals and $165,410 from political action committees.

Herseth Sandlin's two Republican rivals both raised somewhat less total in the fourth quarter, with Secretary of State Chris Nelson pulling in $56,239 and Rep. Blake Curd collecting $181,381. Curd's campaign is highlighting individual donations, pointing out that Curd raised $170,081 from individuals versus Herseth Sandlin's $59,014.05.

Something to keep in mind: a "political action committee" is a vehicle for giving to campaigns, and can represent everything from unions and corporations to professional associations, particular individuals and ideological groups. Herseth Sandlin, for her part, has strong donations both from corporate PACs ("3M Company," "Capital One Financial Corp.," "Deere and Company") and professional/interest group PACs ("Dairy Farmers of America," "American Motorcyclists," "National Cattlemen's Association.") There's also some ideological PACs: "COALPAC," "NRA Political Victory Fund."

Just skimming, I see a lot of financial companies and a lot of health care/pharmaceutical companies. What you can't tell just by looking at one report: whether Herseth Sandlin was unique in having a lot of donations from these companies, or whether these companies were spreading their largesse broadly this quarter.

What does the gap in individual donations mean? Well, I can see a couple of different explanations. It could mean, as Republicans will push, that South Dakota voters are tired of Herseth Sandlin and that she's candidate of Washington and big corporations. It could also mean that a busy legislative schedule in Washington has kept Herseth Sandlin from devoting as much attention to fundraising — racking up a lot of donations means you have to ask a lot of people for donations, and Herseth Sandlin may not have done that. It could also mean dissatisfaction not among the general electorate but among core Democratic voters in South Dakota upset at Herseth Sandlin's votes against cap-and-trade and health care reform bills.

Important context: in the fourth quarter of 2007, the equivalent time period in the last election cycle, Herseth Sandlin raised $70,695 from individuals and $121,519.21 from PACs, for a total of $212,901.49. So this quarter she raised about $10,000 less from individuals and $40,000 more from PACs. Percentage-wise, that's about a 16 percent drop in individual donations and a 35 percent increase in PAC money.

The big picture: Herseth Sandlin will have more than enough money to be competitive but probably not enough to overwhelm her Republican opponent.