Obama may help pay down Clinton's campaign debt. One hell of an olive branch there.

[WilliamPitt]

Obama Won’t Rule Out Easing Clinton Campaign Debt
By Jeff Zeleny

WOODBURN, Ore. – Senator Barack Obama said today that he would not rule out the possibility of helping Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton retire her campaign debt to bring her into the fold and unify Democrats. But he said no discussions have taken place yet.

“Obviously, I’d want to have a broad-ranging discussion with Senator Clinton about how I could make her feel good about the process and have her on the team moving forward,” Mr. Obama said. “But as I said, it’s premature right now. she’s still actively running and we’ve still got business to do right here in Oregon and in other states.”

Mr. Obama stressed that it was premature to talk about lending aid to his rival, declaring: “That’s not a conversation that we’ve had because our working assumption right now is that we’re still in the middle of a race.”

To keep her campaign afloat, Mrs. Clinton has lent herself money several times in recent weeks, amounting to about $6 million within a month or so. The debt that her campaign has accumulated has become a focal point of questions surrounding the future of her candidacy. Speculation has spread – by supporters of both candidates – about whether Mr. Obama throwing a financial lifeline would help bridge the divide between the partisans and offer Mrs. Clinton an exit strategy.

More: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/obama-wont-rule-out-easing-clinton-campaign-debt/

[JI7]

1. if he does it should be after the November elections

[lapfog_1]

15. It has to be before her campaign ends...

so even if she suspends the campaign, it has to be before the convention.

Otherwise those loans are campaign contributions to the candidate and not repayable.

I think he should pay her vendors, except for Mark Penn. And she and Bill eat the rest.

[anigbrowl]

61. Shrewd - cash on delivery

[JI7]

2. Why doesn't Bill just give a speech and use the money to pay if off

[Cha]

41. Yeah, he can wag his finger

and tell us that we think we're better than they are.

[Pirate Smile]

3. I'd like to point out that he doesn't have to use his $$$ already raised from his supporters who

don't want their money going to Clinton/Penn. He could raise additional $$$ just for this purpose from people willing to do it.

[pnwmom]

17. Then think of it as a way of reaching out to HRC's supporters -- whose votes

you DO need.

[Pirate Smile]

29. I was trying to calm down the Obama donors who don't want their donations going to pay off these

debts. I, personally, don't have a problem with it because I think it would be worth it if it would get her to suspend her campaign. I was just trying to point out that there could be a way to do it without having to use the $ of Obama donors who didn't intend for their donations to be used like this although when you donate to a candidate you are leaving it up to their discretion re the appropriate way to spend their campaign money.

[pnwmom]

32. Right -- when you donate to a candidate you are leaving the spending

to his or her discretion.

If Obama's supporters really believe in him, they'll trust him to handle this issue wisely.

[Pirate Smile]

43. I agree and I do.

[jgraz]

45. Do you really have that much of a stake in paying off a millionaire's debts?

The only person who benefits from this is Hillary Clinton (and Bill, and Mark Penn and Howard Wolfson, etc). If he really wants to reach out to Hillary supporters, he should adopt -- or compromise with -- one of her key campaign proposals. After all, we all know you were backing her because of the issues, and not some silly cult of personality.

[pnwmom]

60. I wasn't backing her. I wasn't backing any primary candidate.

But the whole party will benefit if we can put the antipathy behind us, and this would be a good way to start.

[madfloridian]

4. Too much of an olive branch.

She is in this to injure him.

[madrchsod]

31. why would`t it be good thing to help her with fund raising

to pay off her debts...like it or not she`s a senator from a very large state and he`s going to need her.

he can`t use the primary money so we ain`t giving her anything she does`t deserve.

[ProSense]

5. "But as I said, it’s premature right now."

Mr. Obama stressed that it was premature to talk about lending aid to his rival, declaring: “That’s not a conversation that we’ve had because our working assumption right now is that we’re still in the middle of a race.”

Why are people pushing this story?

[rocktivity]

21. They're pushing this story so that Obama supporters will get mad

and stop sending him money, duh!

I'm glad he's addressed it, but I think he's just being polite--He knows what would happen if he spent "our" money on her.

:headbang:
rocknation

[TexanDem]

56. I agree with you. He does tend to be "too" polite sometimes >

I called the campaign headquarters yesterday and they told me this idea came from the media pundits and that it had certainly not been disgussed in the campaign . When he was cornerned, he gave his usual vague answer like he does about her being VP. I hope! I thought then that it looks very suspiciously as a ploy to get people mad and stop contributing.

[pnwmom]

63. I would be much MORE likely to contribute to him if he shows the practical

sense to reach out to HRC and her supporters this way so that we can all unite and start fighting McSame.

As someone who has been in neither candidate's camp, I think it would be a great move on his part and allow us all to move forward together, and quickly.

[pnwmom]

62. What would also happen is that a bunch of HRC supporters and fence-sitters

would then feel free to contribute to HIS campaign.

I bet you forgot about all those people, didn't you.

[Diane R]

6. NO!!!!!!

[Forkboy]

7. I think he will, and I think it'll be a small price to pay to reach out to her and her supporters.

I'm not really getting the strategic thinking of the Obama supporters so against this, though I suspect it's more emotion talking than tactical thinking.

[ccharles000]

8. Obama is a good man.

[GetTheRightVote]

9. The olive branch is needed now so that we stand untied against a common enemy

Even I for a moment forgot the enemy is not within but outside of our campaign process.

I am an Obama fan, if he is the nominee as I hope then I have no problem with Hillary as the VP to keep the Democratic family together to fight our common enemy, McCain. Obama is a good man.

[jgraz]

54. "untied"? I think we're already there.

:P

[Cali_Democrat]

10. But she's loaded with cash to the tune of $109 Million

This is bullshit. I hope Obama doesn't do it.

[pnwmom]

16. You're not thinking strategically or historically. This is not an unusual thing

for a candidate to do in this situation, and it would quickly help to pull the party together, which will benefit all of us.

[pscot]

19. Bullshit is right

She's going in debt to try to kneecap the Dude, and he's going to cover the cost of her ammunition? Seems a bit thick.

[Forkboy]

20. Just the opposite of thick.

This is nothing new in politics. It'll reach out to both Hillary and her supporters and is a small price to pay to do so.

[pnwmom]

35. She went into debt in order to allow her to continue her campaign through

to the convention. This wasn't about "knee-capping" Obama -- it was about her belief in her own candidacy.

If Obama wants her to quit before then, it would behoove him to help her end this now.

[Zachstar]

11. I think he needs to only agree to pay back the vendor debts.

Not the "IOU Mark Penn" debt.

[RamboLiberal]

12. It should be with the caveat that it's used to pay the vendors

not the stupid consultants like Penn she employed and not to pay the Clintons back their loan. They have enough money and will make themselves more with speaking and book fees. Let them eat that!

[IDemo]

13. If it got her to forget about the VP slot, it would be worth it

[pnwmom]

14. I think he will, and his supporters should support him in this.

From I read, fear of his supporters' reaction is a major thing holding him back. But it is time for fence building to begin -- for reaching out to millions of HRC supporters -- and this is the best way to do it. Let's work on pulling this party back together so that we're strong enough to beat the crap out of McSame.

[Thrill]

18. Thats one classy guy

[OzarkDem]

22. No way, tainted corporate cash

comes with lots of strings attached. It appears from some stories it may also come from ME criminals wishing to buy influence with American politicians (see Rezko and friends).

Obama may want to sell his soul to these folks, but I doubt Clinton will buy.

[madrchsod]

28. you can pay off her debts so she won`t

have to have obama help her...


he`s sold his soul to rezko and middle east crimnals!

[Exultant Democracy]

23. This isn't only a good ideal, but also a fairly common practice.

I don't understand why people are freaking about it. I gave my money to Obama so that he would win in November and I bet sure as shit he and his team know what they are doing.

[pnwmom]

39. People are freaking out because they don't understand that this is

common practice.

I agree -- Obama knows what he is doing. Unfortunately, one of his considerations, according to the news today, is that many of his supporters are still angry with HRC. On the other hand, many of her supporters are still angry about how she has been treated by HIS supporters.

It's time to unite as a party and put this all behind us.

[Exultant Democracy]

42. The funniest thing is that the Obama team is the one who came up with this not Clinton.

[pnwmom]

59. Good for them. I hope good practical sense prevails. n/t

[jgraz]

49. Nothing is common in this campaign

When have we ever seen a candidate waste so much money on so little result? The millions to Penn, the loans (plus INTEREST) from her own substantial bank account, the snowshovels, the parking, the donuts!!

Paying her off now would be rewarding this terrible behavior and basically allowing her campaign to extort a bribe in order to not destroy the party. It's a terrible idea. Hillary has lost, and no amount of money will change that.

Her reward for dropping out should be that she gets to keep her senate seat and her committee assignments. Nothing more.

[Exultant Democracy]

58. This isn't about rewarding Clinton, it is about winning the GE. This plan was floated by the Obama

team for a reason.

[PoliticalAmazon]

24. If Obama bails her out, he will have seen the last donation from me....

I don't want to support what Hillary has done to our party. If I wanted to pay her campaign debt, I'd write her a check myself.

I donated to OBama for HIS campaign.

The Clintons have the money. They sold America's jobs to India and made a bundle off of it.

BTW, this should be an indication of how much Hillary has destroyed her legacy: Her India outsourcing corporate handlers are obviously no longer willing to support her campaign.

[progdog]

25. Oh I hope not.

Did anybody watch Survivor last night?

[bluetrain]

26. Sounds like bribery to me.

[madrchsod]

27. he can help her with fund raising.......

speaking engagements and other ways to help her pay off her debts.

HE CAN NOT GIVE HER ANY MONEY FROM HIS PRIMARY MONEY-IT`S AGAINST THE LAW....thank you ..i`ll stop shouting now

[Spazito]

30. Thank you!

If your header was "NO PRIMARY MONEY, IT'S ILLEGAL", it might get more attention though.

[madrchsod]

33. i was thinking that but the word will get out sooner or later.....

i read this at huff`s site today and that made me feel a lot better knowing he can`t...

[polticalpout]

52. Hey Obama, I make 18K a year how about helping me out?

This is crazy, why spend time making money for a mega rich couple??? the Clintons can easily afford $10 million, if Obama uses any of his time or resources to get earn the Clinton's money I will be very disappointed.

[MagickMuffin]

34. I don't think he should pay off her debt, she has used very dirty campaign tactics against him

She has tried to make him unelectable by her smears. And the longer she stays in the more debt she incurs. The Clintons have more than enough money to pay off their debt. So, if he bails her out it will look like a payoff. She claims she didn't have the money yet continued to stay in the race. She has had plenty of donors to establish such a large debt. John Edwards knew he couldn't compete because he didn't have the funds that Clinton and Obama were getting. He knew his only option at the time was to suspend his campaign. Clinton should do the same thing.

I've heard it costs a million dollars a day. So, there are less than 30 days left. $30 million more dollars in debt. It just doesn't make CENTS.

I HOPE he reconsiders this generous offer. Because he has already proven he can get the donations he needs and if he pays off her debt his donations from the people who have been making small donations just could dry up.

[ShortnFiery]

36. Yes, but if he does, HE can't trust her to keep her word. No, I hope she's forced out

and has to pay her own bills. :shrug:

[madrchsod]

48. he can`t

it`s against the law..but he will do fund raising etc because he`s not an ass and he needs her vote in the senate..but trust her? never in a thousand years

[DontTreadOnMe]

37. I say...

let Hillary sink in debt.

She's a big girl. You lose, you pay the consequences. It's called American politics.
If you can't step up to the plate, don't ask for someone to bail you out!

wait... and you want to send an olive branch to Joe Lieberman too... wake up Dems!

[ColesCountyDem]

38. 5th rec here.

We need such olive branches-- the more, the better.

:hi:

[nsd]

40. Keep in mind that he can't just give her money.

What he can do is help her with fundraising. That is, he can encourage people to donate money explicitly for the purpose of paying down her debt.

Donations people have already sent to the Obama campaign cannot be used for this purpose. If you don't want to help Clinton, you don't have to, even if you keep donating to Obama himself.

[here_is_to_hope]

44. NOT ONE THIN DIME. n/t

[jgraz]

46. A real olive branch would be adoption of one or more of her key issues.

A debt payout will only benefit Hillary and her high-paid advisors. If Obama really wants to woo Hillary supporters, he should listen to their issues and act accordingly.

[Tatiana]

47. If he wants to help her form a committee to retire her debt, I'm all for it.

Let her leave this race with some dignity and pay the people who are owed money.

I do NOT support funds that donors gave to Barack Obama going to pay Mark Penn or Hillary herself for personal loans made to her campaign. Nor do I think Barack Obama will do such a thing. We donated the money to Obama for President, not Senator Clinton.

[madrchsod]

53. ---it`s against the law for him to give her his primary money

and i agree with your statements..he`s going to need her in the senate. he will do some fund raising for her

[Tatiana]

57. That's good to know.

Obama supporters would not take kindly to their contributions lining Penn's pockets.

Not that I think the Obama team would ever do such a thing, but it's good to know it's not possible. However, we need to do what is necessary to ensure the good people who rendered services with the expectation that they would be paid for their efforts get their money.

I don't think Democrats should be in the business of stiffing their vendors.

[polticalpout]

50. Give $ to the Clintons?? I rather see it donated to the poor rather than to 2 rich people

I don't understand the thinking of paying the Clintons debt off, they have made over $100 million since Bill left office. I will not be giving any more donation to Obama until I know it won't be donated to a mega rich couple.

[mmonk]

51. Yep. I'd say so.

[cascadiance]

55. I think if she gets ANY money from him (US!!) certain preconditions need to be set...

... especially if she has the idea that she will become Senate Majority Leader.

Whether her corporate contributors like it or not, Obama should REQUIRE that she coponsor the Fair Elections Now Act, S. 1285 that is current languishing in the Senate that he is a cosponsoring and she isn't, and to follow through and push through both this and the analagous one for president as well (Presidential Funding Act of 2007, S.2412) getting PASSED INTO LAW, and not just given "lip service", like it is now. Obama, with so much grass roots funding now, should DEMAND that we are more empowered to control what our congress and president do through public financing and that she use this "funding" as an opportunity for her to jump away from and denounce the DLC, and the K-Street crowd, in exchange for such a big "bailout". Without it, she should have to deal with her debt herself, and be viewed as having agendas contrary to what deserves *OUR* funding of her campaign.

http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?b=810365&c=dkLNK1MQIwG&content_id=%7B0AC12B1F-6764-46AF-8B11-A0F9034D0CD6%7D¬oc=1

[satireV]

64. Media lapdogs

The media is suppose to report facts and news. But here is a direct example of the media creating the story instead of reporting it and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

Repeating the bread and circuses of the media only perpetuates the collusion and corruption, Mr Pitt. You should know better but it appears you have caught the contagion.

[Yael]

65. Apparently, he has more money than he needs to defeat McCain then