Pittsburgh native Tom Vilsack's run for the Democratic nomination for president never got out of the starting block.

Mr. Vilsack, who completed his second and final term as governor of Iowa at the end of last year, announced yesterday that he was ending his presidential bid barely four months after it started. The reason cited by Mr. Vilsack and campaign experts for his early withdrawal was simple: money.

Although he was a popular governor in Iowa and the first Democrat to declare his candidacy, Mr. Vilsack was considered a long shot for the White House because he began with no national profile. Because he had never run a federal campaign, he initially had no campaign funds and a difficult time generating interest.

"I came up against something for the first time in my life that hard work and effort couldn't overcome," he told a news conference in Des Moines. "I just couldn't work any harder, couldn't give it enough."

Mr. Vilsack's reputation as a centrist governor who worked hard to balance the budget without raising taxes wasn't enough to garner national attention.

"You can't run on a resume," said Dr. Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas who specializes in presidential politics. "He didn't have the advantage of a national profile at the beginning."

Pittsburgh attorney Douglas Campbell, a high school friend of Mr. Vilsack who joined him on his presidential announcement tour, said he was disappointed but understands the decision.

"He spoke well and has a great command of the issues, but it's a celebrity process," Mr. Campbell said. "The notion that anyone can run for president is Pollyanna-ish."

Dr. Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a nonresident fellow of the Brookings Institution and a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, said Mr. Vilsack faced additional pressure because the first test for candidates is the Iowa caucuses early next year. He was projected as running no better than third there, but his early decision to get out of the race still was unexpected.

"I was pretty shocked he was leaving already," said Dr. Tenpas. "If you can't win your own state, that's not a good sign. He probably made his own calculations and decided it was fruitless."

Mr. Vilsack's decision leaves eight candidates in the race, led by U.S. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. Mr. Vilsack was considered to be in the second level of candidates.

"Candidates such as Hillary Clinton who already have visibility have a distinct advantage over other candidates," said William Benoit, professor of communications at the University of Missouri-Columbia and author of several books about presidential politics.

"I assume Gov. Vilsack looked at the field, assessed their popularity, their endorsements or likely endorsements, and particularly their success at fund raising. Then he assessed his own viability and decided to forgo the chance at the Oval Office."

Dr. Buchanan said Mr. Vilsack never had the opportunity for a national forum. For example, former President Bill Clinton was a little-known Arkansas governor and Mr. Obama a first-term senator when they served as keynote speakers at the Democratic National Convention and were thrust into the spotlight.

"If you get that opportunity and knock it out of the park, suddenly you can have a national presence," he said. "This was the opportunity Vilsack never had."

In his short campaign, Mr. Vilsack, 55, seemed to follow a path similar to Mr. Clinton's -- concentrating on his roots growing up as an orphan in Pittsburgh and overcoming a tough childhood to become a success. He was adopted by a Squirrel Hill family where his mother was an alcoholic and his father suffered losses in his real estate business.

He attended Shady Side Academy, where he met Mr. Campbell, and Hamilton College in New York, where he met his wife, Christine. They moved to Iowa to be near her family and he eventually got involved in politics and served as a mayor and state senator before being elected governor in 1998.

For months in 2004, Mr. Vilsack's name was among those most frequently mentioned on a short list of candidates to become Sen. John Kerry's running mate on the Democratic ticket.

On this campaign trail, Mr. Vilsack concentrated on his plan to make the United States energy independent through the use of alternative energy sources and recently pushed for Congress to cut off funding for troops serving in Iraq to force the Bush administration to bring them home. He was viewed as following a central political path and formerly chaired the Democratic Leadership Council.

Now, Mr. Vilsack has accepted a position as a lecturer at the Drake University Law School and recently became a consultant for Mid-America Energy. His short campaign doesn't necessarily mean an end to his public profile.

Dr. Buchanan said a failed presidential bid isn't necessarily a bad thing for an unknown candidate like Mr. Vilsack because it "gives you the chance to advertise yourself for a lot of things." He could position himself for a vice presidential bid, as Mr. Edwards did in 2004, or a Cabinet position if the Democrats take the White House next year.

Mr. Campbell said he wouldn't be surprised to see his friend serving as a television analyst, especially before and during the Iowa caucuses.

"I don't think this is the last we'll hear from Tom Vilsack. He's a great guy. He'll be around again."