Clinton Still Trying To Pay Campaign Debt

Secretary Of State Nominee Will Hold NYC Soiree With "Ugly Betty" Star; Tix $50-$1,000

(CBS/AP)  President-elect Barack Obama's vast list of donors is being asked to donate to Hillary Rodham Clinton as she scrambles to reduce her massive campaign debt before she becomes secretary of state and federal ethics rule limit her fundraising, an Obama adviser said Thursday night.

An appeal on Clinton's behalf signed by Vice President-elect Joe Biden is to be sent by e-mail to all of the more than three million donors to Mr. Obama's record-setting fundraising, according to this adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the e-mail had not yet been sent.

Mr. Obama promised after Clinton endorsed him to help her pay off her debt and this is the second time the Obama list has been asked to help Clinton. It was used once during the campaign as well, but its second use underlines the urgency of Clinton's task now that she is Mr. Obama's choice to be secretary of state.

Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will headline a major debt retirement event in New York Dec. 15 with "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera as master of ceremonies. Tickets range from $50 to $1,000, with top donors earning a premium seat and a backstage photo with the former first lady.

Clinton also plans to sell a children's book, titled "Dreams Taking Flight" by author Kathleen Krull, about her pioneering candidacy. Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham, planned to send an e-mail to supporters later this week asking them to purchase the book to help raise funds to pay down Clinton's debt.

On Tuesday, a day after Mr. Obama announced she would serve as his top diplomat, Bill Clinton signed an e-mail to supporters asking them to send a note of congratulations to his wife and including a link for contributing to her debt retirement.

Mr. Obama and the Clintons were aware that the remaining campaign debt could be a problem, even before Sen. Clinton was named the secretary of state nominee, as CBSNews.com Political Editor Vaughn Ververs reported last month.

The urgency is rooted in the size of the New York senator's unpaid bills and the fundraising restrictions she will face once she joins Mr. Obama's cabinet.

At the beginning of November, Clinton owed $7.5 million to vendors from her failed presidential bid, according to campaign finance records. The largest share of the debt - about $5.3 million - is owed to the polling firm of Mark Penn, the Clintons' longtime political strategist. She owes hundreds of thousands of dollars for printing, equipment rental, phone banks and other services.

Clinton has slowly been trimming the debt since suspending her campaign last June, partly with Mr. Obama's help. But her fundraising efforts will be curtailed if she is confirmed as secretary of state and becomes covered by the Hatch Act, which regulates political involvement by federal employees.

A 2001 advisory opinion by the federal Office of Special Counsel said a federal employee with a campaign debt would be prohibited from "personally soliciting, accepting or receiving political contributions." That means Clinton's political committee could keep raising money to pay off her creditors, but without her direct involvement.

The lack of access to Clinton could pose a disincentive for donors, said Sheila Krumholz, director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political donations.

"People write a check to get into the room with a candidate or government official. If she's legally barred from fundraising, the No. 1 reason for giving has been removed," Krumholz said. "It's like attending a wedding and the bride isn't there."

The advisory opinion does allow the former candidate to appear briefly at fundraising events and thank donors. That restriction could suit Clinton well, according to some of her top bundlers who say neither she nor her husband has ever been good at asking for donations.

But none of the Hatch Act rules apply until Clinton is confirmed, so there's an opportunity for people eager to get some face time with the incoming secretary of state. Aides said she will try to avoid doing anything that suggests she is leveraging her new post for fundraising advantage.

Brad Smith, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, said Clinton would be wise to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.

"If nothing else, there's the embarrassment element," Smith said. "A secretary of state trying to raise campaign money is kind of ugly."

Clinton's new job will help her avoid some pitfalls that loom when political access linked to campaign donations. For example, foreign citizens, who might be interested in forging a relationship with an incoming secretary of state, are legally barred from contributing to U.S. political campaigns.

Still, Krumholz said, there are plenty of U.S. citizens with strong ties to other countries who would welcome the chance to write Clinton a check.

"Wealthy people who have family overseas and are tied to issues in the country - human rights issues, for example - have more incentive to give," Krumholz said.

Analysts said that fundraising to retire a politician's debt - never easy - is more difficult during the recession. Also, Clinton is trying to pay off debts from the Democratic primaries, where many of her supporters already gave the maximum $2,300 per person. They cannot be solicited again.

The large share of her debt owed to Penn, a controversial figure and harsh Obama critic, also complicates matters for Clinton. Many Democrats blamed him for her strategic failings.

Clinton also has about $6 million in her Senate re-election account; some of that could be used under strict restrictions to help pay these debts. Under FEC rules, she would need to ask each contributor's permission to move the donation to her debt retirement account - and none could come from people who already contributed the maximum to her presidential bid.

[wardoglrs]

Yea this is the *** who helped create the war on dead beat dad''s not able to pay child support. These people are just welfare leaders we need real leaders not this garbage.

[jraf766]

She will not be able to raise money but Bill can. There is always a loophole for everything.

[irmcvet971]

I''m going to send this Lady a few bucks after the first of the year. IF she doesn''t take the Job in the Administration she could have continued to raise funds and pay off her debt. We need her position in the World right now and Nations all around the World like and respect her and her husband. We SHOULD use that to influence them to join with us and others in a coordinated effort to make the Islamic Terrorist the Muslim KKK!

[irmcvet971]

Yea this is the *** who helped create the war on dead beat dad''''s not able to pay child support. These people are just welfare leaders we need real leaders not this garbage.

Posted by WarDogLRS at 09:01 PM : Dec 04, 2008

LOL Yeah right! Like George W. Bush!! ROFLMAO It''s amazing though. You poor uneducated losers take a licking and just keep right on ticking! LOL Here we are, the people who ATTACKED US, who BLEW UP the World Trade Center, they have COMPLETELY REBUILT while WE were fighting in a country that neither attacked us or had the ability to attack us. Now ADD to that the TOTAL INCOMPETENCE of Bush and the Republican Party in running our Economy! Just what part of FAILURE do you NOT understand? LOL Now even for a 6th grade drop out, THATS called getting your BUTT KICKED! LOL Sorry Sparky but I prefer actually WINNING once in awhile. GET and EDUCATION and stop letting people control you!!

[irmcvet971]

Awww, poor girl, someone should "retire" her debt. lol
I love how its "retire" the debt for thes elite mofos.

Man it would be nice if people would feel compelled to retire my debt.

Posted by azure11 at 09:41 PM : Dec 04, 2008

So YOU don''t think our elections and debate is worthwhile? It''s amazing how you people can call yourselves American''s when EVERYTHING you stand for is AGAINST what this nation is all about. I think it was EXTREMELY important that this woman, who carried the hopes of EVERY woman in America on her back, was in that Campaign. Helll Sparky, even that Air Head the Republican''s put up as their VP said that!! Is it possible, being that we ARE in very bad shape right now and WE the PEOPLE did speak VERY loudly... Is it possible that YOU could just be an American for a few months? Is is possible that you can at least ATTEMPT to show a little respect for what so many have died for?

[alphaa10000]

CBS reports, "The largest share of the debt - about $5.3 million - is owed to the polling firm of Mark Penn, the Clintons'' longtime political strategist..."
---

Mark Penn, registered GOP lobbyist, worked hard to defeat Democrats in several 2006 contests. Penn is CEO of Burson-Marsteller, a lobbying firm whose DC subsidiary is headed by none other than Charles Black, chief of the McCain campaign, and a registered lobbyist for Verizon, Blackwater, Abu Dhabi and Microsoft.

Whether Clinton erred in her choice of Penn as top campaign adviser is something only she can admit, but Penn attracted suspicions early. When attacks on Obama began in 2008 from both McCain and Clinton, they bore the same eerily similar stamp.

In a memo, Penn is said to have counseled Clinton to portray Obama relentlessly as un-American and alien to the American political mainstream-- exactly the same smear McCain and his blogging minions followed as the core of his campaign rhetoric. .

Democrats immediately warned Clinton she served only the McCain campaign by her use of the Penn smear tactic, but Clinton did not listen. It was not until bitter infighting erupted between Penn and Hillary staffers that Penn was forced into a lesser role. Now the question-- were Penn and Black working from the same side of the street?

Penn, at the very least, should forgive Clinton her debt-- his future in Washington might well depend on it.

[suki66-2009]

The key word here is help, not pay off. He did as he promised. If his supporters and her supporters would not belly up to the bar cash in hand, how is that Obama''s fault. I did read both the Obama''s donatet the max to her.

[boandco]

These two sleaze buckets were very good at selling pardons the last time they were in the white house. As secretary of state they should be able to find some other kinds of favors they could sell off.

[spinproof]

The Clinton''s expecting Pres.-elect Obama or his supporters to pay Sen. Clinton''s campaign debts is crossing the line and going too far. The real question is why would the Clinton''s even think they can expect such a thing? Sen. Hillary Clinton received advice from her campaign to drop out of the race because she was running up large deficits and could not afford to continue but Clinton stayed in the race and pressed on and now she expects Pres.-elect Obama and his supporters to pay off over $20 million of her campaign debts! LOL Pres.-elect Obama has already been gracious enough offering Sen. Clinton a Cabinet Post as Secretary of State in his administration and so I think expecting $20 million too is too much and its time to say "Shame on you Hillary Clinton!", pay your own bills!

[alphaa10000]

poster said, "He still hasn''t provided proof of his LEGAL CITIZENSHIP (his birth certificate). Should he be immune from Constitution now as well?"
---

You bring up a good example of the smear campaign referenced. It is up to Obama''s detractors to prove the certificate offered is NOT genuine.

But this is only a fraction of the smear campaign you attempt to "whitewash"-- ranging from accusations Obama is a Muslim to Obama is a terrorist sympathizer.

You of the fringe right are like Chihuahuas yapping ferociously, exciting only yourselves, but annoying everybody else. Perhaps that is your principal objective.

You missed the election-- it was about the hope of reform, versus fear of the same. Your microfocus on minutiae spares you the burden of thinking about ideas that matter.

More to the point, your tribe gullibly endorsed Bush not once, but twice. That leaves you with little credibility to advise others.

Good night-- I have to work tomorrow.

[yongamerica]

When You Go Operational, You Have to Expect Losses.

As a member of Obama''s supposed base,who contributed a large amount to Obama relative to my likely retirement income, I greatly resent this. Clinton is far, far richer than we are. Why on earth should we be asked to pay off her debt? We were forced to contribute MORE THAN WE COULD AFFORD TO OBAMA BECAUSE HILLARY KEPT RUNNING WHEN SHE SHOULD HAVE QUIT.

Hillary should be sending me money.

[airboatboy1]

She should try to get hooked up with a stain removal product and get together with Monica and do some infomercials. Bet that would raise some bucks.

The more I think about this, the more outraged I get. This is INCREDIBLY insensitive. She is still of the richest .01 percent. We are struggling moderate-income people who have lost a third of our life savings.

How could Obama even THINK of asking us to pay her debt during this time of economic despair? How could he violate my trust. He has no right to use my e-mail address for this insulting endeavor.

[juwboy]

I believe I`m correct in saying that six of the first seven U.S. Presidents were not natural-born U.S. citizens but were natural-born British citizens.

What fudge factors were used to allow them to take office?

Also ...

A Bush or a Clinton has been President, Vice-President or Secretary of State since 1981 and it`s likely this will continue for another 8 years.

What are we trying to do?

Restore the monarchy?

[juwboy]

My apologies.

I now have it on good authority that "hitoyou" is ARABIC for "no sense of humor".

[misha128-2009]

I believe I`m correct in saying that six of the first seven U.S. Presidents were not natural-born U.S. citizens but were natural-born British citizens.

...

Posted by juwboy at 05:26 AM : Dec 05, 2008

Note the following in Article 1 Section 1 of the US Constitution -- "or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution,"

US Constitution Article 1 Section 1

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

[unlresources]

Tell Hillary to get in line behind the Automotive CEOs to beg for help. This is the beginning of the end and this is starting the precedence of the taxpayers will continue to pick up the tab for everything. Hillary needs $7.5 million, tell her go work it off with Slick Willy.

[henius-2009]

Give me a break. The Clintons, Bidens and Obamas are the same old thing. Always looking out for number one.Let them pay -off their debt on their own.

[libra217]

From factcheck.org:

"FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.

Update, Nov. 1: The director of Hawaii%u2019s Department of Health confirmed Oct. 31 that Obama was born in Honolulu."

Ergo, this is a total non-issue. There is no uncertainty whatsoever that President-Elect Obama is a natural-born citizen of the U.S. Get over it.

[libra217]

If this was a "non-issue" then your very own LIBERAL DEMOCRAT lawyer Philip Berg wouldn''t have brought the issue to the table to begin with.

Posted by Christ_Truth at 09:23 AM : Dec 05, 2008

Berg''s lawsuit was THROWN OUT OF COURT as without merit.

[libra217]

Again, Obama''''s very own "fight the smears" website reported in October and ADMITTED that Obama was indeed a Kenyan citizen until 1982 when he simply let the citizenship expire.

Posted by Christ_Truth at 09:25 AM : Dec 05, 2008

This in NO WAY negates the fact that Obama was born in Honolulu and is a natural-born citizen of the US. For reasons that are a bit complicated, it seems that, because his father was born in Kenya at the time when Kenya was a British colony, his son held dual citizenship for a short time (until Kenya was no longer a colony) even though he was a natural-born US citizen. The historical background may be found at factcheck.org and is too lengthy to reproduce here.

[libra217]

The arrogance of the court''''s nowadays is preventing "WE THE PEOPLE" from having our voices heard.

Posted by Christ_Truth at 09:30 AM : Dec 05, 2008

The voices of the American people HAVE BEEN HEARD. It''s called an election, buddy. Obama won. Get over it.

[libra217]

Again, Obama''''''''s very own "fight the smears" website reported in October and ADMITTED that Obama was indeed a Kenyan citizen until 1982 when he simply let the citizenship expire.

Posted by Christ_Truth at 09:25 AM : Dec 05, 2008

This in NO WAY negates the fact that Obama was born in Honolulu and is a natural-born citizen of the US. For reasons that are a bit complicated, it seems that, because his father was born in Kenya at the time when Kenya was a British colony, his son held dual citizenship for a short time (until Kenya was no longer a colony) even though he was a natural-born US citizen. The historical background may be found at factcheck.org and is too lengthy to reproduce here.

You don''t seem to get it, Christ_Truth. No one is DENYING that Obama held dual citizenship for a time ! He was still born in the good ole USA.

[libra217]

You still don''t seem to get it, Christ_Truth. No one is DENYING that Obama held dual citizenship for a time ! He was still born in the good ole USA and is therefore eligible to be President.

[musethalia]

pay her debt?? you have got to be kidding Obama - why don''t YOU pay her debt personally and stop asking the people for more when they''re already strapped financially. people are losing their homes, jobs, retirement funds and you have the balls to ask the people to pay her campaign debt...that''s unbelievable when the clinton''s have millions in personal and liquid assets.

[libra217]

That church is one of the most racist on the planet.

Posted by Christ_Truth at 10:47 AM : Dec 05, 2008

Is there any reason other than racism for your quest to find any excuse whatsoever to deny Obama the Presidency ?

[billster68]

Hillary will of course eventually pay off her debts. But who really knows where the money will come from. Legally she is supposed to follow restrictions on where the funds can come from - - except for each of the Clintons when did rules really matter? These two obviously do pretty much what they want - - laws are for the "little people" to follow. Speaking of little people, imagine the financial hardship Hillary has caused to all sorts of small businesses that provided goods and services to her candidacy? Just a few more little people who really don''t count for much - - let them "pound salt" waiting for their money. She owes the money and she should pay it now - - right from her own personal funds.

[blazercoach1]

This is pathetic. How much money do the Clintons have? How supposedly bad is the American economy?

And yet there they are with their hands out so their sycophants can drive themselves further in the ground economically out of star-lust.

I''m not sure who is more pathetic: the Clintons or the snivelling crowds who contribute to them.

[libra217]

I don''t feel too sorry for Mark Penn, to whom most of the money is owed. He did a pretty poor job on Hillary''s campaign.

And by the way, she''s already contributed some $13 million of her own money to her campaign.

[sly_64]

The Clintons have a lot of money, they can bail themselves out. Why ask people to pay for a poorly run campain. She shouldn''t get a dime from anyone.

[libra217]

Yes, ineptitude for starters.

Posted by TheMasses10 at 11:54 AM : Dec 05, 2008

What ineptitude would that be ? He hasn''t even taken office yet. He won the election by an electoral college LANDSLIDE and ran an absolutely brilliant campaign. He has made far more cabinet and staff appointments, and proposed many more programs, at an early stage of the transition than any other President-Elect -- Democrat OR Republican -- has done. Sure doesn''t sound like "ineptitude" to me. So far, Obama has been supremely COMPETENT.

[bedwetter777]

Were did all the PUMAs go? Were they all Limbaugh''s "operation chaos"?

Christ_Truth, where did you get the notion that BO wasn''t a US citizen because of his dual citizenship as a Kenyan? You didn''t just come up with that yourself did you? Did somebody tell you this half truth and you took the bait? Is this some underhanded smear campaign to just spread any kind of negativity possible?

[libra217]

Yes, ineptitude for starters.

Posted by TheMasses10 at 11:54 AM : Dec 05, 2008

What ineptitude would that be ? He hasn''t even taken office yet. He won the election by an electoral college LANDSLIDE and ran an absolutely brilliant campaign. He has made far more cabinet and staff appointments, and proposed many more programs, at an early stage of the transition than any other President-Elect -- Democrat OR Republican -- has done. Sure doesn''t sound like "ineptitude" to me. So far, Obama has been supremely COMPETENT. I''ll bet you, like Christ_Truth, are bothered more by the color of his skin.

[bedwetter777]

TheMajority1 at 01:20 PM
------------------------
Wow, man you must be devoid of any common decency to post stuff like that. Would your mother be proud of you posting that sort of stuff? Please, for the love of God, show some self-respect and self-restraint.

[jt_lancer]

The politicians are always looking for a handout. And if you don''t give it to them voluntarily, they''ll confiscate it from you by government force.

[libra217]

libra217, any moron who''s not a person of his word, having no morals to win at all cost, get his goons to do the dirty work so he can stay clean, making empty promises, can win the election.

Posted by USA-No1 at 11:50 AM : Dec 06, 2008

If that''s truly what you think American democracy is like, I think you should move to another country more to your liking.

I suspect, however, that you are just one more Republican sore loser. So many of them around these days.

[clovisbuford]

I personally am waiting on RowdyTexans announcement on how much money she is giving to retire clintons debt . RT was such an advocate of Hillarys in the campaign against Obama ,now that Obama has embraced hillary , I eagerly await reports of Rowdy''s campaign largesse.

[clovisbuford]

Lets examine Mr. Berg and his credibility , from Conservapedia:9/11 Lawsuit
Berg first came to prominence in May, 2004, when he represented Ellen Mariani, wife of Louis Mariani, in a lawsuit against President Bush, Vice President Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and 55 others under the federal Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations act. Mr. Mariani was killed when United Air Lines flight 175 was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The lawsuit alleges that the government had foreknowledge of the terrorist attacks and provided no warning. In addition, it claims the government actively covered up evidence after the attack. For instance, Mr. Berg alleged that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush went to the offices of Hoffman Aviation School, took records, and had them flown out of the country on an Air Force plane.[1][2] , you know right wingers want to embrace Mr. Berg , embrace him and his claims .. the wingnuts out there are on all sides of the spectrum.

[clovisbuford]

libra217, any moron who''''s not a person of his word, having no morals to win at all cost, get his goons to do the dirty work so he can stay clean, making empty promises, can win the election.
Posted by USA-No1 at 11:50 AM : Dec 06, 2008..err just because that is what happened in 2000(ask Mccain and Al Gore) doesnt mean its the same in 2008 , but thanks for the historical refreshment

[clovisbuford]

Thought the muslim was to help Hillary retire her debt with all this money he has. Guess he has reneged on this as well as everything else he proposes.
Posted by seriousinusa at 08:42 PM : Dec 06, 200 if by muslim you mean obama ,i have received several e-mails as an Obama supporter asking me to retire her debt . Perhaps like most republicans you think well once he is in office or she is , she can count on the industries she regulates to retire that debt , that is a republican free market solution . If you owe money for getting reelected or elected ,count on the ones you regulate to provide the money , guarantees a good result for your industry , ask the gramms , wendy or phil eh .

[thegoodtexan]

The Clintons can always sell shares in their White Water Portfolio, that is always an easy way to raise money.

[clovisbuford]

The Clintons can always sell shares in their White Water Portfolio, that is always an easy way to raise money.
Posted by TheGoodTexan at 02:08 PM : Dec 07, 2008" yeah that was a winner ,60 million spent of the tax payers money , the investigation was still going on yrs after the clintons left office , and the clintons were never convicted or charged with anything to do with whitewater.

[newschuck]

The Clinton''s own(?)large homes .
Could they gain some financial help from a sale
or lease of one or more of their properties, or has
the housing and finance problem put them into a bind also ,like some of the rest of us .