I’m sorry, but can anyone give me really good explanation as to why Senator Obama should bail Senator Hillary Clinton out of her $22.5 million self-imposed campaign debt?Really, this concept is difficult for me to grasp. Hillary loaned herself a reported $12.175 million. She owes $4.6 million to her advisor Mark Penn and his polling firm, and another $5.4 million to vendors.
Does this hold any water? Let’s say we pay the vendors. $5.4 million is a drop in the bucket in presidential politics. If $5.4 million is all that’s needed to make “peace” between Obama and Clinton and to get her enthusiastic support—then write her campaign a check—but then, that kind of resembles a “payoff” doesn’t it?
What’s the real solution? First, the innocent, hard-working, service-providing vendors deserve to be paid. Period. Mark Penn—well, he was Clinton’s pal—at least until the Columbia scandal, and he should chalk it up as a contribution to the campaign in which he so strongly believed and so arduously fought.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton…They simply need to forgive the debt owed to themselves. After all, who believed in Hillary Clinton’s candidacy more than Bill and Hillary? Investing in a political campaign is not like a treasury bond. There are absolutely no guarantees. In politics, you win some and you lose some. When you lose, you have to be prepared to cut your losses. Not ask for a refund.
Like every other donor, Clinton should have freely given to her campaign. She lost. Now she wants her money back? Is she going to refund all of her donors their money back too? That would only be fair…
Ultimately there are two issues at stake:
1) The issue of party unity and how best to achieve it. Eradicating Clinton’s debt would go a long way toward wooing Clinton and her supporters. After all, how can she effectively campaign on his behalf with this huge debt hanging over her head, right?
2) Obama’s authority as a leader. Is Obama to be perceived as a soft, weak-kneed, push-over, sugar daddy? First, Clinton supporters lobby—or more accurately, try and twist Obama’s arm into giving Clinton the Vice Presidential slot out of a sense of entitlement. Now, Clinton supporters are pushing to have Obama retire Clinton’s debt utilizing well-managed campaign funds donated (not loaned) by Obama’s 1.5 million enthusiastic, dedicated and hard-working supporters. "Introducing, Obama the sugar daddy…eh?""
Here's the real deal—Senator Hillary Clinton’s debt is a result of financial mismanagement, her refusal to conclude her campaign sooner, and her own lack of confidence regarding her ability to win. (Hence, the $12.175 loan versus donation to her campaign).
Now is this really the kind the behavior we want to reward with a $22 million gift? Even a child knows the answer to that.
