Clinton: I'm Not Looking For Donations To Cover My Loan To My Campaign

In a fundraising appeal this morning, Hillary Clinton explicitly stated that she is not looking for donations to cover the $12.5 million she loaned her own campaign.

"As you know, I had to loan money to my campaign at critical moments," Clinton writes. "I'm not asking for anyone's help to pay that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause."

"But I do need your help paying the debts we accrued to others over the course of this campaign," she continues. "We put everything we had into winning this race, and we came just about as close as you can."

As we reported in Starting Gate, Barack Obama's donors have mobilized to help Clinton retire the roughly $10 million in debt that she carried over from her campaign not tied to her personal loan. Clinton thanked Obama in a statement put out by her office: "Senator Clinton appreciates Senator Obama's generous efforts and is continuing her efforts to raising the moneys he needs to ensure a victory in November."

The full email, which features two large, red "contribute" buttons, is below.

Dear _______,

I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it.

I told you that if you stood up for me, I would always stand up for you. You did more for me than I could have ever imagined, and I'm going to keep my end of the bargain and keep fighting for what we believe in -- in the Senate and on the campaign trail, helping to elect a new Democratic president and a bigger Democratic majority in Congress.

That relationship will endure thanks to the remarkable journey you and I have shared. But there's something else -- less endearing and I hope less enduring -- that our campaign has left behind: our substantial campaign debt.

I'm so grateful for all you've done for me -- all the ways you have given your time, energy, and financial resources. But today I am asking once again for your help ridding our campaign of debt so we can keep fighting together.

Contribute today to help us reduce our campaign debt.

As you know, I had to loan money to my campaign at critical moments. I'm not asking for anyone's help to pay that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause.

But I do need your help paying the debts we accrued to others over the course of this campaign. We put everything we had into winning this race, and we came just about as close as you can.

I will never regret the energy, effort, and passion we put into one of the closest and most expensive primary contests in history. But I need your help to move on to the next phase of our journey together.

Your contribution today will help us pay down our campaign debt.

You've done so much for me over the past 17 months, and I can never thank you enough. But I hope you know how much I appreciate everything you put into our campaign.

Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

P.S. Everywhere I go, people tell me what a big difference our campaign has made in their lives. Let's keep working together throughout 2008 and beyond to advance the causes we believe in and to advocate alongside people whose voices need to be heard.