When I first began this blog, I was chided for speculating that the cost of being considered a serious 2008 contender would approach $100 million. Well, it appears I am in good company:

Republican Mitt Romney estimates he must raise at least $100 million to be among the “serious contenders” for the presidency in 2008, according to e-mails two of his sons sent trying to enlist support for a fundraising kickoff on Monday.

“The first few weeks after announcing the formation of an exploratory committee are critical, in that they demonstrate the candidate’s ability to raise this kind of money,” said virtually identical notes sent by Josh and Craig Romney, two of the former Massachusetts governor’s five sons.

“As a result, I’m asking you to help me raise money for my Dad’s exploratory committee,” the e-mail continues.

Romney filed paperwork Wednesday creating a presidential exploratory committee, the same step already taken by Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, two other potential candidates for the GOP nomination.

FEC Chairman Michael E. Toner also said he expected each party’s nominee to forgo federal financing for their general election campaign, allowing them to raise unlimited sums for the post-primary portion of the campaign.

Toner told the Times that the “entry level” for a serious contender will be $100 million by the end of 2007 — the same figure cited by Romney’s sons.

The “Big Three” of the GOP-McCain, Rudy, and Romney (Newt would be included here as well if he were to get started now) will have no trouble approaching this figure. It will be interesting to see which candidates in the lower tier will do the best job of trying to keep up.