Clinton’s Fund-Raising Success Is Outshined by Obama’s
By PATRICK HEALY and JEFF ZELENY
Published: February 8, 2008
Concerned that it could lose several primaries and caucuses through the rest of February, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign sought to create an alternate storyline of success on Thursday by announcing that Mrs. Clinton had raised $7.5 million online so far this month.
That unusually high figure was quickly overshadowed by Senator Barack Obama’s announcement that he had raised the same amount in 36 hours since the 22-state contest on Tuesday, in addition to the $32 million that he raised in January.
Mrs. Clinton drew $13.5 million in January.
With Tuesday behind them, the rivals have turned some of their ferocity away from voters and toward their donors, seeking the clear-cut victory in fund-raising that neither could secure at the ballot box this week, when Mr. Obama won 13 states and Mrs. Clinton 9.
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Mr. Obama, speaking to reporters, zeroed in on Mrs. Clinton’s loan and said that her decision not to disclose her income tax returns raised questions about the loan.
“I’ll just say that I’ve released my tax returns,” he said, responding to a question about tax returns. “That’s been a policy I’ve maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from.”
Mr. Obama stopped short of issuing a call for Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton to release their returns.
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Clinton campaign officials said she would release her returns if she won the nomination. The officials said there was enough information in her public Senate financial disclosures to assess her personal finances.
Her Senate forms do not list exact deductible expenses like interest or medical costs. The tax returns would show exact interest and dividends from investments, not just the ranges on the disclosure forms.
Mrs. Clinton has been an advocate for transparency in campaign finance, as has Mr. Obama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/us/politics/08clinton.html?_r=1&oref=slogin