Clinton Team Acknowledges $20 Million Debt

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Source: Washington Post

Clinton Team Acknowledges $20 Million Debt

By Anne E. Kornblut Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, May 12, 2008; Page A04
A Top Aide Denies Rumors That She Is Seeking VP Slot

CLARKSBURG, W.Va., May 11 -- With her campaign falling ever deeper into debt, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a rainy Mother's Day seeking votes ahead of Tuesday's primary here, turning a deaf ear to calls for her to leave a Democratic presidential contest she has little hope of winning.

Clinton aides continued to insist that she will remain in the race even while confirming that she is $20 million in debt. "The voters are going to decide this," senior adviser Howard Wolfson said on "Fox News Sunday," acknowledging the $20 million figure. "There is no reason for her not to continue this process." Wolfson said he has seen "no evidence of her interest" in pursuing the second-place spot on the Democratic ticket, contrary to rumors that she is staying in the race to leverage a bid for the vice presidential nomination.

With the primary season nearing its close, Sen. Barack Obama's advisers are beginning to consider the question of his running mate with more urgency as they focus more openly on the general election. Although Obama himself has been careful to insist that the Democratic race is not over as long as Clinton stays in it, his advisers have planned a trip to Missouri -- a state that held its primary on Feb. 5 but appears certain to be a key November battleground -- this week.

...With nearly everyone -- including, privately, many on her own team -- contemplating when, not if, she will quit the race, the questions surrounding Clinton now go largely to her motivation. Publicly, her campaign argues that victories in West Virginia and Kentucky could shift the growing tide of momentum for Obama back to her by demonstrating that she has appeal in states that Democrats must to win to take back the White House in November. What is unclear is whether she hopes strong performances will make Obama consider her for the No. 2 slot or at least help her retire her growing debt.

"I don't believe that Senator Clinton is looking for a deal," Obama strategist David Axelrod said on the same Fox show on which Wolfson appeared. Saying that Clinton "competed hard" and is "playing it out as she sees fit," he said the Clinton campaign is capable of deciding how to leave for itself. "I don't think she's waiting for a cue or a signal from us or an offer of financial assistance. And I think that would demean her to suggest otherwise," he said.

...more at the link

Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/11/AR2008051101865.html?nav=hcmodule

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If she can't run her campaign finances, how can she run the US economy? Voters in West Virginia
should look very closely at how Senator Clinton has managed her campaign. Using the argument that
oh - she thought the election would be over in February is no excuse - the US economy is full
of way more suprises than a political campaign. How would she handle such a large economy?

[grytpype]

1. Kentucky and West Virginia are must-win?

[Maria Wr]

33. Her Supporters will call it one

And I suppose that is what matters...

[krkaufman]

45. That was my favorite...

Publicly, her campaign argues that victories in West Virginia and Kentucky could shift the growing tide of momentum for Obama back to her by demonstrating that she has appeal in states that Democrats must to win to take back the White House in November.

Exactly how when did Kentucky and West Virginia become "must-win" states in November?

[ORDagnabbit]

2. she cant run a campaign, cant tell the truth, loves war and people wanted her to run the country?

sucks to be her.

[saigon68]

25. Since she and her husband made $158,000,000.00 last year

This is pocket change

[WillyToad]

34. Hatred

It's what's for dinner

[skyounkin]

3. "The voters are going to decide this,......"

Newsflash stupid, they already did.

[JBoy]

37. Another temporary flip-flop. That's the story they'll have for the duration of WV and KY

which they're expected to win handily. Then they'll try to use this "voter sentiment" as the rationale for Super Delegates to ignore all the previous voters and give her the nomination.

[bhikkhu]

4. What a miserable mess...

That's about all there is to say about that.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. in another thread a story about a boy selling his bike to donate money to her

which is even worse. A kid in WVa selling his meager belongings
to benefit someone as obscenely wealthy as Hillary.

[NM Independent]

6. At this point ...

She's just carrying on to make up the debt.

That means that she is spreading false hope so that she can extort hard earned money from her already strapped base. Now THAT is pretty damn low.

This poor kid is just icing on the cake that she wants to let everyone eat.

[Window]

16. I read that yesterday. I hope her campaign will send a check in

that amount to his parents and they buy him another bike and more games.

[Divernan]

20. HRC follows W. C. Fields' maxim: It is morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his money."

Most of her base is not strapped; they've just already dontaed their legal maximum.
Most of her base (by most, I refer to percentage of supporters from whom she got most of her funds) are not poorly educated, "hard working white" voters. It is only that relatively small portion, the "little people", or as I think of them at this point, the dupes, whom she is hitting up.

HRC is practising the W. C. Fields approach to political campaigning: Fields used to say, "It is morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his money." and also "Never give a sucker an even break."

[DogPoundPup]

28. $11 Million of that debt she loaned to the campaign, so actually

She's $31 Million in debt...not?

Clinton Deadline Looms for Recouping $11 Million Personal Loan
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=as5a58KS7ky8&refer=home

[Zodiak]

23. That's terrible!

Please, soomeone pull the plug from her campaign, it is destroying everything.

[Fiendish Thingy]

24. Love your Rickenbacker/Bama graphic- did you create it?

I play a Ric and a Hofner...

[Zodiak]

32. Yes I made it

...for the general election.

[marshall]

26. How many widows on fixed incomes are going without food to donate to HRC?

She will cravenly take money from anybody, no matter how needy, in order to offset her debt.

[juajen]

43. Gee, I didn't know there was an income requirement to donate to Obama!

Color me surprised and impressed. Where is that published?

[marshall]

44. Obama hasn't loaned himself 20 million that he's trying to recoup on the backs of the poor

She should just cough up the debt herself, pay off those moms and pops who provided her campaign with donuts and hot dogs, and call it a day.

[bulloney]

7. How would she wage a winning campaign against McCain when she's $20 mil in debt in the primaries?

I hate seeing a political system that revolves so much around money, but that's the system we currently have.

Let's say McCain lives up to his word and does not run a smear campaign against his opponent (ha hah). That doesn't keep the other surrogates from the campaign from doing it. Clinton wouldn't have enough money to wager a proactive campaign and retaliate against the smears that would knowingly, relentlessly be thrown at her.

[madrchsod]

8. she spent how many millions in iowa to come in third?

she`s 20 million and counting with nothing to carry over to the general election...meanwhile obama is spending money to build a national organization for vote registration across the country

i`m not awake yet

[madrchsod]

9. delete

[elocs]

10. "A Top Aide Denies Rumors That She Is Seeking VP Slot"--this makes me wonder...

Could this be like in sports when it is denied that a manager or court will be fired and it's a sure sign that he is toast? We all know how coy candidates can be about the VP spot, denying that they are even interested at all and then surprise, surprise--they take it. Why Obama would want her as his running mate and why Clinton would ever want it is beyond me. It does make for a lot of good speculation and rumors.

[nolabels]

13. Can you say shotgun wedding?

The establishment feels it need someone in inside the inner circle so bad that they will grasp for any little toe hold they can find. I would expect M$M to be bringing this to the forefront in the near future

[elocs]

15. If this even were the case, 2 would be company and 3's a crowd.

The last thing that Obama would need would be the finger wagging Bill Clinton anywhere near his campaign. That would be like the turtle carrying the snake on his back across the lake only to be bitten--he knew it was a snake that he let get on. It could be the ultimate sabotage of Obama, leaving Clinton's path open in 2012.

[nolabels]

46. I have much trust and pretty much know Obama would never accept

That won't keep them from pushing it and making it potentially a lose-lose situation either way he goes. M$M and the corporations will take a big hit with a Obama presidency so they will be needing to paint him as the bad seed. They don't want him having large coat-tails because they would want to keep as many intact republican as possible. HRC plays a roll in that even at present by just muddying up the waters so the rest can operate unquestioned. She and her backers know a down and wounded DLC is better than a totally out of the loop DLC.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

18. If Obama chooses Clinton as VP, he better watch is back. ...n/t

[Zachstar]

11. Ouch!

[Jester Messiah]

12. Seems like she's a little confused about tense.

She says the voters are going to decide this; the correct tense would be "The voters have decided this." Go home, Ms. Clinton.

[KSinTX]

14. Clinton economics

[Wetzelbill]

17. That's almost a few years salary for them!

They'll never make that up. They're already scraping by on the 100 million they made since Bill left office.

[DemsUnited]

19. I saw that Fox News Sunday interview with Wolfson. Wallace threw

out the 20 million dollar figure and Wolfson hedged around it. I was left with the impression that the actual number is higher.

We'll see on the 20th.

[spotbird]

21. Last month they

amended their statement a few weeks after it was submitted. IRRC there was a bookkeeping error which caused a substantial amount of debt to go unreported.

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

22. other than herself and Mark Penn,

who isn't getting paid? Who isn't worthy of their due money? If she were president and the budget was tanking, who would she decide not to pay - schools, border patrol, soldiers?

[harun]

27. Wow, she spends like B*sh, no wonder Repubs like her (n/t)

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

29. You're in WV, aren't you ?

I hope that you and other WV dems are writing LTTE's to every WV newspaper about this and about the boy selling his bike to make a donation to a millionaire . I realize that its been on the teevee, but I think a LTTE from a neighbor has an impact on voters.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

39. no, I was born and raised in WVA, left yrs ago because there were no jobs, no economy

There are nice people in WVA, folks just like us.

And the mountains are pretty.

But the economy collapsed in the late 70's and hasn't improved.

Meanwhile, neighboring VA has done quite well.

All you have to do is step across the invisible state lines to find the economic difference.

Sad.

[Poll_Blind]

30. Nothin' to worry about- Ishtar cost 45 million! She's only at .5 Ishtars.... n/t

PB

[Deep13]

31. "If she can't run her campaign finances, how can she run the US economy?"

Oh, please. That is a ridiculous comparison on its face.

[Maria Wr]

35. No, it's a valid argument

When neither candidate has actually governed anything, looking at how they run their campaigns is a valid form of skill assessment. In this instance, she does not do as well as Obama.

[Deep13]

38. It's only true if you ignore HC's previous WH work and...

...the additional 4 years she has on O. in the Senate. One can understand how the national economy works and know how to balance the Federal budget (which is a different matter) and still do poorly in campaign fundraising. In some instances the latter may cause the former. Few will support a candidate who will not be generous with the taxpayers' money. Anyway, since losing campaigns never get a chance to manage the economy, there is really no way to make a comparison on that basis.

[roguevalley]

41. no. she picked the dickheads that ran the campaign and allocated

the moolah. she lived like a potentate on the trail. she is responsible as the leader and she fails.

[Deep13]

42. "she lived like a potentate on the trail."

You saw that? Or is this just more crap from your rumor mill?

[roguevalley]

40. no its not. put obama in there and you would be frothing at the mouth.

[Deep13]

36. As much as I hate to admit it...

...it's over. This is why Edwards quit before the new Super Tuesday. Not having two nickles to rub together is pretty much the end of any campaign.