Hillary's Hidden Campaign Crutch - Corrected
One thing that gets missed in all the back and forth about Hillary's campaign debt - and Obama's ability to outspend her - is the value of the time Bill Clinton is contributing to the Hillary campaign.
Take Pennsylvania, for instance. The Hillary camp view of the outcome is that Obama outspent her 2-to-1 in the state, and yet still lost by 10 points.
Here are the facts:
* Obama spent more than $11 million on ads in PA compared to Clinton's $5 million - slightly more than a $6 million, or 2-to-1 advantage
* Bill Clinton made more than 34 campaign appearances in Pennsylvania on Hillary's behalf between early March and mid-April, focusing on "Bubba Voters" in rural counties, to great effect.
* Bill Clinton gets about $150,000 on average for his speaking engagements.
Let's assume - conservatively - that between April 17 and April 22 (election day), Bill did another 16 appearances (conservative, given that he was telling staffers to give him 6 or 8 appearances a day during the last week before the PA primary). That would be a total of 50 Bill Clinton talks between early March and the April 22 primary, which at $150,000 a pop adds up to $7.5 million.
Add to that the under-the-table financial benefit of having PA Governor Ed Rendell's machine working for Hillary, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's machine doing the same, and you begin to get a sense of the degree to which Hillary outspent Obama in the state.
And what did all this get her? Having effectively outspent Obama by something more than $2,000,000, she saw a 25-point lead shrink to below 10 points, and netted a measly 10 delegates from the process.
Bill Clinton is of course moving on to make similar appearances in Indiana, North Carolina, and beyond.
And the questions nobody seems to be asking?
* Why do those millions of dollars worth of contributed time from a former president not get counted in campaign spending totals?
* What kind of performance would Hillary be making in these primaries if Bill WEREN'T contributing that time, and what does that say about her own strength as a candidate?
* Is she counting on that same crutch to help her out when she's too tired to think straight as the sniper fire comes in at 3AM?
* Do the American people really want a president that needs that kind of crutch?
Take Pennsylvania, for instance. The Hillary camp view of the outcome is that Obama outspent her 2-to-1 in the state, and yet still lost by 10 points.
Here are the facts:
* Obama spent more than $11 million on ads in PA compared to Clinton's $5 million - slightly more than a $6 million, or 2-to-1 advantage
* Bill Clinton made more than 34 campaign appearances in Pennsylvania on Hillary's behalf between early March and mid-April, focusing on "Bubba Voters" in rural counties, to great effect.
* Bill Clinton gets about $150,000 on average for his speaking engagements.
Let's assume - conservatively - that between April 17 and April 22 (election day), Bill did another 16 appearances (conservative, given that he was telling staffers to give him 6 or 8 appearances a day during the last week before the PA primary). That would be a total of 50 Bill Clinton talks between early March and the April 22 primary, which at $150,000 a pop adds up to $7.5 million.
Add to that the under-the-table financial benefit of having PA Governor Ed Rendell's machine working for Hillary, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's machine doing the same, and you begin to get a sense of the degree to which Hillary outspent Obama in the state.
And what did all this get her? Having effectively outspent Obama by something more than $2,000,000, she saw a 25-point lead shrink to below 10 points, and netted a measly 10 delegates from the process.
Bill Clinton is of course moving on to make similar appearances in Indiana, North Carolina, and beyond.
And the questions nobody seems to be asking?
* Why do those millions of dollars worth of contributed time from a former president not get counted in campaign spending totals?
* What kind of performance would Hillary be making in these primaries if Bill WEREN'T contributing that time, and what does that say about her own strength as a candidate?
* Is she counting on that same crutch to help her out when she's too tired to think straight as the sniper fire comes in at 3AM?
* Do the American people really want a president that needs that kind of crutch?
