US election to be the most expensive ever [View All]

[OhioChick]

Source: Times of India

16 Jan 2008, 0001 hrs IST

WASHINGTON: The outcome of the 2008 White House election remains up in the air, but one thing is certain — the bid to succeed President George Bush will be the most expensive race in history.

The cost of the last presidential campaign in 2004, considered a peak for its time, was $693 million.

Common estimates of this year’s total outlay have tended to come in at around $1 billion, and Fortune magazine recently upped its overall cost projection to $3 billion.

As a historical comparison, the campaign two decades ago that saw Republican George Bush succeed Ronald Reagan at the White House cost $59 million. Historians believe that the nation’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, spent $100,000 in his bid to take the executive office in 1860.

In the countdown to "Super Tuesday" on February 5, when 22 states including New York and California hold their primary elections, White House hopefuls are furiously bolstering their campaign war chests.


Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/US_election_to_be_most_expensive_ever/articleshow/2703169.cms

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$3 BILLION? Imagine how many could go to bed on a FULL stomach, have shelter or even have that life-saving surgery that they cannot afford......amongst other necessities.