Hotline reports Clinton Campaign leaked the incorrect $36M campaign numbers to Drudge?

[flpoljunkie]

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/04/clinton_raises.html

Like many other metrics, the number can't be isolated from its context. Some Clinton supporters will crap bricks when they learn that Sen. Barack Obama raised more than $21 million dollars -- maybe more. Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, declined to confirm that fact, but other Dem fundraisers who talk regularly with Obama's fundraisers say that Obama's sum will come close to Clinton's sum -- at least for the money raised into primary accounts.

Others will worry that $26M is as good as it gets for Clinton, especially since high dollar fundraising tends to drop off after the first quarter. For the rest of the year, Clinton will rely more and more on aggressive and costly direct mail, low dollar events, and internet appeals.

Leaking the $36M number to Drudge was purely tactical -- this way, Clinton's team makes certain that the $36M number is what the chattering class sees first. Getting ahead of the story and all these things, as Arnold Schwarzenegger would say. It'll take some time for the media to report the real number, which is $26M minus the general election cash. (make no mistake: cash on hand matters, too, and Clinton has a clear and distinct advantage here).

Gibbs, contacted as he was about to board a plane, wouldn't ballpark Obama's totals for us, so we're relying on other sources with less direct knowledge say. Still, more than $20M from scratch is, and will be, huge.

Some unanswered questions:

How much of HRC's money came from major donors? (Answer: about $20M) Are there big donors left to tap? Did her internet fundraising bear fruit? How will this be spun internally? Does Bill Clinton think this number is good?

MARC AMBINDER

[Bitwit1234]

1. Golly gee whiz......I thought Obama and Hillary Clinton were supposed to be campaigning

not running around raising money. Of course they need money to campaign but I thought they are supposed to be telling each other how much money they made. Is Obama already starting a one upmanship....nah nah nah nah I made more than you did. Aren't they adults.

[flpoljunkie]

3. Obama is doing nothing of the sort. Until we demand public financing, this system will continue.

[msongs]

2. wow two questionable sources in one title. is there an award for this?

"Some Clinton supporters..." no names eh?

"Others will worry..." no names again.

"...so we're relying on other sources with less direct knowledge say." no names AGAIN.

way to spread the merde.

Msongs
www.msongs.com

[wyldwolf]

4. the only problem with what is being claimed here is the $36 mill IS correct

[flpoljunkie]

5. No. $11M of it is leftover from Hillary's Senate campaign plus the $26M includes money for general

Hillary's campaign has not broken out the money received from the big donors who gave her $4600--$2300 for the primary and another $2300 for the general campaign--which she will have to return if he does not win the nomination.

[wyldwolf]

6. true, but obviously you don't know how FEC reporting works.

A candidate has to report all contributions, cash or in-kind, in a given time frame. Transferring other campaign funds counts. Making a personal loan or contribution to you own campaign counts. Just as when John Kerry mortgaged his house for campaign money, it counted.

If Hillary's cousin creates a campaign logo, the worth of the work must be counted as a contribution.

The belief that Hillary fudged the numbers is just one more example of people not knowing politics they way they think they do.

[flpoljunkie]

7. Campaign release says $26M raised since January 20. It is disingenuous to say otherwise.

I do understand what the campaign was attempting when insiders released the $36M figure to Drudge, and he was only too happy to oblige to trumpet it on his website. The public hears $36 million and assumes it was all raised this quarter--not so!

From the Clinton press release:

Total includes $26 million raised since Jan 20, $10 million transferred from successful senate reelection campaign.

Specifically, the campaign noted several key numbers demonstrating the overwhelming depth and breadth of Clinton’s support:

* $26 million raised in new receipts since launching her campaign on January 20
* 80 % of the contributions were $100 or less.
* $4.2 million raised on the internet (including $1 million in a week during the One Week, One Million campaign, and nearly $600,000 online in the 36 hours preceding the deadline)
* $6 million in total grassroots donations (internet plus direct mail and telemarketing receipts)
* 50,000 donors (tens of thousands of them new donors)
* Contributions received from residents of all 50 states (plus Washington, DC)
* $10 million transferred from Senator Clinton’s successful senate reelection account

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/04/the_official_cl.html#more

[wyldwolf]

8. it is only "disingenuous" to the uninformed

CLINTON REPORTS $36 MILLION IN TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR FIRST QUARTER

Who is Clinton "reporting" this to? Not you and I. She is reporting it to the FEC.

Total includes $26 million raised since Jan 20, $10 million transferred from successful senate reelection campaign

This is how FEC reports are done and always has been. Sorry it offends you. EVERY candidate will count receipts that were not direct contributions.

Amazing to watch campaign seasons unfold and "progressives" who think they know how the political process works suddenly become shocked and appalled at common political and campaign processes.

[flpoljunkie]

9. Spin, all you like. Hillary's campaign certainly is. NYT also reports Clinton raised $26M, not $36M.

April 1, 2007, 4:26 pm
Campaign Cash: Clinton at $26 Million
By David D. Kirkpatrick

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential primary campaign said today that it had raised $26 million during the first quarter, more than three times as much as the previous record for this stage of a Democratic primary.

<>The Clinton campaign statement is also the opening of a complicated poker game in which the campaigns will strategize about when and how to disclose details of their fundraising efforts in order to publicize their strengths and downplay their weaknesses. First quarter campaign fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission are not due until April 15, so any information provided before then is voluntary.

<>In an example of the art of disclosing fundraising figures, Senator Clinton’s campaign declined to disclose how much of the $26 million had been raised for the Democratic primary campaign account and how much for ithe general election, a detail which could reveal how dependent her campaign is on a relatively small number of big donors. Thus, disclosing how much Mrs. Clinton’s campaign had raised for the general election would indicate how much of her money was raised from donors who contributions had exceeded $2300.

<>In the logic of campaign publicity, campaigns are likely to consider it advantageous to announce numbers at the same time as Senator Clinton if they want their relatively low numbers to be overshadowed in the news coverage. Conversely, waiting suggest they may want to attract attention to unexpectedly strong results.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/campaign-cash-clinton-at-26-million/

[wyldwolf]

10. the only spin, apparently, is coming from the uninformed

What you have in bold is in no way relevant to the Quarter 1 sum reported to the FEC which was 36M - 26M in campaign contributions and 10M transfered from her senate account.

It is pretty ludicrous having to explain this to you over and over. The FEC has their procedures. Candidates are only bound by those procedures and not by what those like you THINK they should be bound by. Clinton accurately reported the amount of money that has been deposited in her presidential campaign coffer this reporting cycle - 36M.

[flpoljunkie]

11. Got any idea, wyldwolf, how much of Hillary's reported $26M is for the general? She's not telling.

We all understand the Clinton campaign ploy, so why don't you just pack it in. Hillary campaign raised $26M in primary and an undisclosed amount of general election contributions this quarter. That she is reporting a a figure of $36M which includes carrying over for her Senate campaign is irrelevent--since $11M of it is from her Senate campaign.

[wyldwolf]

12. I really don't care. Why divert from the point?

[flpoljunkie]

13. That is the point, wyldwolf, disingenuous reporting, which you would obviously prefer to ignore.

You are talking total amounts reported to the FEC--which will include the $11 million carryover from Hillary's Senate campaign. I am talking about the money Hillary raised this quarter. If you cannot undestand the difference, I can think of nothing else to say to you, except Good Evening!

[wyldwolf]

14. the point is whether she took in 26M or 36M

[Tellurian]

15. OFFICIAL CLINTON RELEASE...RECORD SHATTERING $36 MILLION!!!

The Official Clinton Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 1, 2007

CLINTON REPORTS $36 MILLION IN TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR FIRST QUARTER


Total includes $26 million raised since Jan 20, $10 million transferred from successful senate reelection campaign

Hillary Clinton’s campaign today announced it will report $36 million in total receipts for the first fundraising quarter, which ended March 31, 2007. The staggering number reflects the strength of support for Clinton from every walk of life and every part of America.

“We are overwhelmed by the tremendous enthusiasm and historic response this campaign has received so far,” campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said today. “Going forward we are poised to continue this success and make even more history.”

Specifically, the campaign noted several key numbers demonstrating the overwhelming depth and breadth of Clinton’s support:

* $26 million raised in new receipts since launching her campaign on January 20
* 80 % of the contributions were $100 or less.
* $4.2 million raised on the internet (including $1 million in a week during the One Week, One Million campaign, and nearly $600,000 online in the 36 hours preceding the deadline)
* $6 million in total grassroots donations (internet plus direct mail and telemarketing receipts)
* 50,000 donors (tens of thousands of them new donors)
* Contributions received from residents of all 50 states (plus Washington, DC)
* $10 million transferred from Senator Clinton’s successful senate reelection account

In March of 2003, the highest total reported by a Democratic campaign in its first-quarter fundraising report was $7.4 million and the top four candidates combined raised just over $23 million. In March of 1999, incumbent Vice President Al Gore reported $8.9 million for his first quarter.

...good show! People are thrilled with the thought of another Clinton presidency. Peace and Prosperity Rules!

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/04/the_official_cl.html

[formercia]

16. The conduit to Drudge has been shortened greatly

now that HRC has Geraldine Ferraro on board, a principal at Blank Rome LLP, a GOP Dirty Tricks and Opposition Research unit.

I guess the boys are putting their chips on Hillary.