Meanwhile, the RNC raises $11.4 million

There were sighs of relief on First Street when this number was leaked late last night. According to a statement released this morning, the beleaguered Republican National Committee raised $11.4 million in March, taking its cash on hand to $11.3 million. According to Greg Sargent, the DNC will top it. It's nonetheless a piece of good news for Michael Steele.

How did the committee pull this off in a month book-ended by Powerpointgate and Voyeurgate? The obvious cause was the donation surge spurred by the passage of the Affordable Care Act. "Americans are ready to fire Nancy Pelosi," boasts Steele in today's statement, tipping the hat toward the burn-the-witch campaign launched after the Democrats' health-care victory. That campaign raised $1.5 million online in short order.

Chris Cillizza and Philip Rucker have more on Steele's survival, while Alex Pappas reports out a fundraising trick (pulled in December, not last month) that had big-dollar Michigan donors give to the RNC (on the same day!) on the promise that the RNC would send the money back to their state's committee. If only all of Steele's problems were about how adroit he was with money.