WASHINGTON, D.C., May 13, 2008
Clinton's $20M Debt Could Cause Headaches
Campaign Unsure How The N.Y. Senator Will Handle $20 Million In Loans, But Obama May Help
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Play CBS Video Video Tough Times For Hillary With superdelegates defecting and a campaign that is at least $20 million in debt, Hillary Clinton's run for the nomination is struggling. But, as Jim Axelrod reports, she's not giving up.
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Video Rationale For Clinton Vanishes Although many see Sen. Barack Obama as the inevitable Democratic nominee, he is careful not to make any claims. Harry Smith talks to pundits about what remains for Sen. Hillary Clinton.
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Video Clinton Continues Campaigning Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will campaign in such states as West Virginia and Oregon, despite repeated calls to drop out of the race against Barack Obama. Jim Axelrod reports.
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Hillary Clinton D-N.Y. will more than likely end the primary season significantly in the red. Clinton campaign officials say they have not contemplated what she will do with her over $20 million debt. (AP)
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Photo Essay Hillary Clinton A look at a life and career full of firsts.
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Interactive The Money Race See the latest campaign finance tallies from Obama and McCain.
Clinton owed $10 million at the end of March, has made loans to her campaign totaling of $11.4 million thus far and will more than likely end the primary season significantly in the red.
Among her options is transferring that debt to her Senate campaign committee and paying it off with contributions to her 2012 re-election effort.
But, for the short term, many Democrats believe the answer lies with Obama and his vast network of contributors.
“That is a normal thing when a candidate finishes a race and loses, the winning candidate would try to help if there's some debt that's been incurred,” said Tad Devine, a Democratic consultant who has worked in several presidential campaigns but is unaligned this year.
By law, Obama cannot write a massive check from his flush campaign account to hers. But Obama donors, large and small, might be willing to donate to Clinton in the name of party unity.
Clinton campaign officials say they have not contemplated what she will do with the debt. Asked whether she would welcome financial help from Obama, her spokesman, Howard Wolfson, told “Fox News Sunday” that “any talk of that is premature.”
Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, offered a similar response.
“She hasn't asked, and we haven't offered. And I think that discussion is way premature,” he said on the same program.
Clinton's loans to the campaign comes from her share of the wealth she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have amassed since they left the White House in 2001. Their tax returns show they made $109 million in the past seven years.
But if Clinton wants to pay herself back for the millions she has poured into her historic campaign, donors willing to help her would have to act quickly.
Under a 2002 campaign finance law that Republican presidential candidate John McCain helped write, Clinton would have only until the Democratic convention in late August to raise money to cover her loan. After the convention, she could only raise up to $250,000 toward paying it off.
“The biggest time crunch for her are the personal loans, that she has to move on between now and the Democratic convention if she wants to be paid,” said Michael Toner, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
But if Obama were to ask his donors to help Clinton, it would be at the same time that he likely will be asking those donors to contribute to the Democratic National Committee so the party will have money to help him in the general election campaign.
“We're behind in fundraising for the general election at the DNC,” said Steve Murphy, a Democratic consultant who helped run New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's presidential campaign. “You want to run a lot of money through the Democratic National Committee.”
Clinton might have another avenue at her disposal. The law permits her to transfer the presidential campaign debt to her Senate re-election committee, which would allow her to use contributions to the Senate account to pay off presidential campaign vendors. Clinton is up for re-election in 2012.
Campaign finance lawyers say she also is entitled to transfer money she raised for the presidential general election to her Senate account, provided those donors agree to reassign the money. Clinton has raised more than $22 million for the general election. If donors approve transferring any of that money to the Senate committee, some lawyers said it appeared she could use it to pay off the debt.
Others raised doubts, saying such use of money from general election contributors to retire primary debt would amount to double giving by those donors.
“This is pretty uncharted,” observed Robert Biersack, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission.
The question could end up before the six-member FEC, which currently has no quorum as it awaits Senate action on five nominees recommended by President Bush.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who abandoned his presidential bid on Jan. 3, has asked the FEC if he can transfer his general election contributions to his Senate re-election committee. Dodd's request is complicated by the fact that he accepted public financing for the primaries; Clinton did not.
Still, the FEC's response - if and when it provides one - could help inform the question of how Clinton handles her debt.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 98 CommentsHillary is ahead by 29,471 votes if Michigan is included.
These margins are really, really small. There are millions more people still to vote. There is absolutely no reason Hillary should leave the race before the voting is complete and/or someone has reached the required number of delegates.
1. His WHITE MOTHER taught Obama he could be anything he wants %u2013 how dare they do that to him %u2013 that was abuse
2. How dare his WHITE MOTHER love a black man and have a child with him at a time when the rest of white America hated blacks %u2013 how dare they do that to our UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
3. How dare his WHITE grandparents love him and teach him good values. What type of WHITE grandparents would do such a thing?
4. Why would his WHITE MOTHER allow this mixed child to even think he could one day be a lawyer or a doctor or a President? They should have raised him to be a thug, a criminal, a drug addict not a good person %u2013 Dayum them.
5. His WHITE MOTHER worked on her doctorate degree instead of staying on welfare,. Who do she think she is to make a better life for her son, dayum this WHITE WOMEN.
6. His WHITE MOTHER gave him a life experience by traveling the world, What is wrong with WHITE WOMEN?
7. His WHITE MOTHER left him at an early at dying from cancer, and he promised her he would make her proud. Why would a man love his mom that much?
8. His WHITE grandparents taught him values, loved him, yes he made some mistake but their values held out. Why would two WHITE grandparents love a black child so much %u2013 how dare them love a black child%u2026...who the hell, do they think they are?
I say we ban all WHITE WOMEN from raising black males to be anything, its wrong,
Hillary is like that last person in the marathon coming in about 2 hours after the winner....never giving up, just keep chipping away, and her supporters are those people who stay to the end and cheer that last jogger on...giving them a rousing ovation for finishing at all, even though the cameras have packed up, most people have returned home and there is no chance for A trophy.
In a way, Americans can admire that and in a way, most will just shake their heads at it.
Then again, maybe she is more like the no talent contestant who screeches and beats up a song or the comedian who gets cricket chirps instead of applause--the kind of loserS who haVE to get tomatoes thrown at them or a trapdoor to get a clue about how horrible they are and that most don''''t want them. LMAO
Posted by b-easy63 at 09:27 AM : May 14, 2008
In a way, Americans can admire that and in a way, most will just shake their heads at it.
Then again, maybe she is more like the no talent contestant who screeches and beats up a song or the comedian who gets cricket chirps instead of applause--the kind of loser who has to get tomatoes thrown at them or a trapdoor to get a clue about how horrible they are and that most don''t want them. LMAO
Meanwhile, HRC is accruing even more debt and according to news sources, still not paying off her debts to others including small businesses. As for Obama supporters ans what they want, I have already told the Obama campaign that my vote is NO--she ran her campaign the way she did and continued to run it to the detriment of her party--when she did not bow out gracefully but was just a dead and dragging weight on the electorate, she lost all rights to any money help. Why should Obama supporters pay for the trashy, racist and negative smears used to harm his campaign and divide the Dems?
I hope she does keep running, the money shift is denied and Obama holds off any offers--then if he loses, let that ____________(fill in how you like) choke on OWN her debt slinging azz.
Posted by John_Lai at 06:07 AM : May 14, 2008
You just don''t get it. The point of a college education is to make a lot of money and to learn to WORK SMART--NOT HARD. Hard work is what any person is left with, when they fail to think through smarter solutions.
Hard work--digging ditches with a shovel.
Smart work--inventing a bobcat and bulldozer to do most of the work.
Learn it--in fact, learn even more, then you too could make lots of money, work less hard and perhaps join the winning demographic.
Obama''s fund raising = a bulldozer, millions in the work crew-- in a field of loam
Hillary''s campaign--a few rich people and really poor people--all on a hill of granite, each with pickaxes and a shovel.
I hope she does keep running, the money shift is denied and Obama holds off any offers--then if he loses, let that ____________(fill in how you like) choke on her debt slinging azz.
Posted by rufisgufis at 12:18 AM : May 14, 2008
It was a slam-dunk that Hillary would win in West Virginia. It was her demographic: The old, stupid, ignorant, uneducated, tobacco-chewing, moonshine-drinking, snuff-sniffing, meth-making, cow-sh*t kicking, redneck, hillbilly hick. Obama probably won the three college-educated young males who probably left the state by now.
Those are people with flesh and blood. Those are fellow American, hardworking, without their coal and many things you may be frozen or blackmailed by the Arab countries.
You are a shame of human race; not surprisingly from BO''s camp.
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Posted by rufisgufis at 06:41 PM : May 13, 2008
ROFL! Yeah right...
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Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 07:56 PM : May 13, 2008
Lots old male bigots in this country going to donate to help pay her campaign debts. Now that''s hilarious! (pardon the pun)
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Posted by rufisgufis at 06:41 PM : May 13, 2008
ROFL! Yeah right...
Most Hillary supporters are the uneducated types.
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Posted by jockh at 07:44 PM : May 13, 2008
Did you bother to read the polls? If not go read ''em, then spout your mouth off!
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