If Hillary can't manage her campaign finances, how can she manage the U.S. budget?

[BluegrassDem]

I think this is a very serious issue. She's managed to blow all her campaign cash. She obviously doesn't know how to budget money properly. If she can't manage a $100 million campaign budget, how can manage a multi-trillion dollar federal budget? I'm very concerned with her fiscal management skills.

[jgraz]

1. She could try crying...

:hide:

[neutron]

2. the Clintons were the lst to Balance the U.S. Budget so

somehow I imagine she'll manage.

[BluegrassDem]

5. I thought Bill Clinton wasn't on the ballot? Can't have it both ways

Hillary hasn't had any fiscal responsibilities, and don't even try giving her credit for the 90's budgets! The only thing she's managed is her campaign budget, which she's failed miserably at. How the hell can she manage a trillion dollar federal budget? Is she gonna open her checkbook and write checks to the U.S. Treasury? I'll accept that.

[jgraz]

6. No. BILL CLINTON balanced the U.S. budget

Unless you also want to say "The Clintons" both got blowjobs in the Oval Office.

[juajen]

3. Gee, we would never have guessed anyone would say this!

I know, Chelsea can do it. That's the ticket. A new little dynastic figure, counting the money in the treasure room. I like it!

[rinsd]

4. Obama outspent Hillary to achieve a tie. How can he possibly handle the economy?

:eyes:

Arguing that a candidate campaign spending is reflective of their ecnonomic policy is assinine.

Since this is the 4th time this has been posted.

do you Obama supporters go alphabetically posting this idiotic argument or do you draw straws?

Or is it just about rotating the lampchops?

[FrenchieCat]

8. She is the establishment......and needs to be gotten rid of!

No more Bushes and no more Clintons.

I'm tired of all of 'em!

[TexasObserver]

7. She's been a disaster from a fiscal standpoint.

She mortgaged her soul to the most vile interests in the country. She spent more than any candidate. And she can't pay her staff, while she and Bill sit on a King's fortune they have amassed while he was retired and while she served in the senate.

They arrived in DC as plebeians, and are now patricians. That ain't good.

[amborin]

9. wrong, wrong, wrong

you are poory informed

that's not what happened at all

her campaign chose to split her donations....half for the primaries, half for the campaign, should she get the nomination

so she's used up the first half.....it was a calculation her campaign made, not the result of "blowing" anything

are you an Obama supporter? clearly, you don't delve very deeply into the issues

[johnnydrama]

10. so

her staffers are going without pay because she's got 50 million saved up waiting for the GE which she may not be a part of.

I doubt that, and if it is true, that may be even worse.

[Zueda]

16. Her campaign had to split the money because her donors

are large money donors and can only give $2300 towards her primary election. They then give another 2300 to her general election fund.

[amborin]

17. see how lobbyists support Obama

The Boston Globe August 9, 2007

PACs and lobbyists aided Obama's rise - Data contrast with his them

Using campaign appearances, e-mails to supporters, and Iowa TV ads, Illinois Senator Barack Obama
has repeatedly reminded voters that his presidential campaign does not accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees, casting his decision as a noble departure from the ways of Washington.

He hit the theme hard again in Tuesday's Democratic debate in Chicago as he sought to capitalize on rival Hillary Clinton's remark last weekend that taking lobbyists' cash is acceptable because they "represent real Americans." "The people in this stadium need to know who we're going to fight for," Obama said at Soldier Field. "The reason that I'm running for president is because of you, not because of folks who are writing big checks, and that's a clear message that has to be sent, I think, by every candidate."

But behind Obama's campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth. A Globe review of Obama's campaign finance records shows that he collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs as a state legislator in Illinois, a US senator, and a presidential aspirant.

In Obama's eight years in the Illinois Senate, from 1996 to 2004, almost two-thirds of the money he raised for his campaigns - $296,000 of $461,000 - came from PACs, corporate contributions, or unions, according to Illinois Board of Elections records. He tapped financial services firms, real estate developers, healthcare providers, oil companies, and many other corporate interests, the records show.

Obama's US Senate campaign committee, starting with his successful run in 2004, has collected $128,000 from lobbyists and $1.3 million from PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. His $1.3 million from PACs represents 8 percent of what he has raised overall. Clinton's Senate committee, by comparison, has raised $3 million from PACs, 4 percent of her total amount raised, the group said.

In addition, Obama's own federal PAC, Hopefund, took in $115,000 from 56 PACs in the 2005-2006 election cycle out of $4.4 million the PAC raised, according to CQ MoneyLine, which collects Federal Election Commission data. Obama then used those PAC contributions - including thousands from defense contractors, law firms, and the securities and insurance industries - to build support for his presidential run by making donations to Democratic Party organizations and candidates around the country.

Though Obama has returned thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from registered federal lobbyists since he declared his candidacy in February, his presidential campaign has maintained ties with lobbyists and lobbying firms to help raise some of the $58.9 million he collected through the first six months of 2007. Obama has raised more than $1.4 million from members of law and consultancy firms led by partners who are lobbyists, The Los Angeles Times reported last week. And The Hill, a Washington newspaper, reported earlier this year that Obama's campaign had reached out to lobbyists' networks to use their contacts to help build his fund-raising base.

This activity, along with Obama's past contributions from lobbyists and PACs, has drawn fire from opposing campaigns. Some political analysts say Obama, by casting himself as an uncorrupted good-government crusader, has set himself up for charges of hypocrisy.

[rodeodance]

11. sure you are--flamebait alert!

[AZBlue]

12. Truly an excellent question that needs examining.

[Zynx]

13. Laaaaame.

[Zueda]

14. She can always borrow more money from the Saudis and China. n/t

[Cha]

15. How's she gonna do anything

for the people with all those corporate donors to take care of?