Clinton asks top donors to meeting with Obama

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton plan to meet with some of her top contributors next week in an effort to calm donors who remain frustrated with Obama's presidential campaign.

The meeting is set for June 26 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, several top Clinton fundraisers said Tuesday. The former first lady will introduce Obama to her financial backers.

Jonathan Mantz, Clinton's national finance director, notified donors about the meeting by e-mail Tuesday and urged them to attend and to contribute to Obama, who clinched the Democratic Party's nomination on June 3.

Two people closely involved with Clinton's fundraising said the meeting had taken on added urgency after several of her money "bundlers" complained that they felt their concerns weren't heard during meetings last week with Obama campaign officials in New York and Washington.

Both individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.

Among other things, the donors want to make sure Obama knows that in order to get their help he needs to help Clinton pay down her campaign debt. As of the end of April, Clinton had more than $20 million in debt, a figure that likely increased by the time she suspended her campaign June 7.

Obama cannot use his campaign money to help Clinton with her debt, which includes at least $11 million of her own money. But he can encourage his donors to contribute to her campaign.

The two fundraisers who discussed the meeting said many donors also are furious that Obama's campaign hired Patti Solis Doyle as chief of staff to Obama's eventual running mate, calling it a slap in the face to Clinton and an implicit acknowledgment that she would not be on the ticket with him.

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Obama spokesman Bill Burton said no inference about the selection of a running mate should be made from Solis Doyle's hiring.

"This was a long and hotly contested fight, so obviously there are some strong feelings about how it turned out and what needs to happen moving forward," he said. "But we're confident that the Democrats are united in their desire to defeat (Republican) John McCain."

Clinton and Obama will meet with two different groups of donors at the Mayflower a week from Thursday. One larger group will include donors who raised $250,000 for Clinton's campaign. A more intimate session will be reserved for about 30 fundraisers who collected $1 million or more.

"The challenge is reaching out to donors to ask them for money for a candidate that they've been on the opposite side of for a year and a half," said Alexander Heckler, Clinton's Florida finance chairman. "However, we have to take a deep breath and realize that we need to all work together and have a Democratic president elected."

Another Clinton fundraiser suggested there was no rift, noting that a vigorous primary contest had just ended.

"The Obama campaign has reached out to the Clinton people," said Hassan Nemazee, Clinton's national finance co-chairman. "I think this is a process that is being undertaken and hopefully we will be in a position to assimilate the Clinton fundraising operation and the Obama fundraising operation together in the near future."

"The reality is that we're two weeks from the day that the last primary was held," he added. "It takes a little while for staff to talk to each other, for lay organizations to talk to one another. It's taken a while to get the candidates available."

Heckler said he has been working with Obama's camp and said he and Obama's Florida finance chairman, Kirk Wagar, have been speaking daily to discuss fundraising strategies.

Separately Tuesday, Obama met in Washington with most members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, many of whom had supported Clinton. Obama acknowledged that he still has work to do to win Hispanic votes.

All the caucus members who attended the meeting pledged to support Obama, according to several members who spoke privately afterward.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas said he told Obama he had worked his heart out for the former first lady and would work just as hard for Obama's election.

___

Beth Fouhy reported from New York. Associated Press writer Suzanne Gamboa contributed to this report.

Comments

[closetodemfection]

The media is way more focused on the money than HC. Many other former presidential candidates are STILL in debt years after their campaigns.

O's campaign is over 2 million in debt from the primary too. So what?

HRC could pay the whole thing off tomorrow with personal funds. She could pay it off with one book deal. Her top priority is not her campaign debt, it's putting O in the white house.

The important thing is that O and H are working together.

[ThunderclapNewman]

O's campaign ended the primary season with 30 million in the bank.

HRC's first priority is repaying HERSELF for the 11 million she loaned her campaign.
If she doesn't recoup the money by the convention, she can't get it back.

[closetodemfection]

I'm sure she weighed that possibility before she loaned it to herself. Even if she'd won the nomination she'd be in the hold. I really don't think she cares about the money - or she wouldn't have gone for a job that only pays $400,000 a year.

[Fotki]

To all Senator Clinton supporters here who are planning on NOT voting for Obama and who leave numerous comments here:

Let’s vote for McCain, I agree! Let’s have another war – now with Iran, continue the war with Iraq, bomb a few more countries, get gas prices to $10/gallon, criminalize abortions, let everyone buy guns easily and carry them too, and let’s give even more tax cuts to the rich and screw the middle class. Because Obama is “phony” and inexperienced.

I’m sorry but you’re either Republicans posing as Democrats, or racists who would never vote for a non-white person or just really-really mentally challenged people. In either of three cases (or a combination thereof), why are you even reading Huffington Post? – doesn’t it horribly contract your pseudo-conservative and racist persuasions?

[Docbcs]

Funny...I'm also having a problem with my posts showing up. They're opinionated, but not, I am sure, offensive in the traditional sense of the word. OK...here goes again! I think Obama has some real work to do with women voters (myself among them), not because he won, and I want to be "spiteful", as some bloggers have suggested, but because neither he nor his campaign (nor the DNC, for that matter) has acknowledged the blatant sexism in the media. To give just one example, had MSNBC's Tucker Carlson said, instead of,"Every time she (Clinton) comes on TV I involuntarily cross my legs","Everytime he (Obama) comes on TV I involuntarily check for my wallet", he would have been brought to task over it...and rightly so! Until this ubiquitous sexism gets acknowledged and condemned by Obama (and McCain, for that matter) in the way that racism does, and should be,, neither one of them has my vote.

[bygollymissmolly]

Among other things, the donors want to make sure O'bama knows that in order to get their help he needs to help C'linton pay down her campaign debt. As of the end of April, C'linton had more than $20 million in debt, a figure that likely increased by the time she suspended her campaign June 7.
---------------------------
Ok, I think O'bama needs to tell them to take a hike. If they think that someone should pay off C'linton's bills, then they should do it. O'bama has enough financial support from "we the people", so that he doesn't need to put up with the petty griping of former H'illary supporters. If they think that O'bama is the best candidate for President, then they need to financially support him. If they don't, too bad so sad.

[pinkyboo]

Obviously Obama want's Clinton's former donors or he would not be going to this meeting- get real this IS polotics.

[Rachel36]

Why should Obama use the money he needs to campaign to beat McCain to settle her "bunglers" bungling? So much for her giving her support and backing! Pay now or pay later!

I wish she'd just gracefully leave and maintain some character.

[alaintex]

So Hil has $20M in debt and a donor list who have already given her the max allowed by law.

She floats that she would like O to retire her debt, but he doesn't want to give up his own money.

Then she just wink, wink, introduces her big donors to him. They can donate to him, he pays her off, and keeps any extra.

Sounds like a psudo-legal way to skirt the campaign finance laws.

She's a schemer till the end.

[lornejl]

Gee whiz, politicians play the system ? Say it ain't so !

[closetodemfection]

Of course, it is perfectly legal, so what do you care? O's supporters won't have to pay it down, H's will. All the money is towards the common cause of putting a dem in the white house anyway.

[Donnat]

He can't give her money, it's not that he doesn't want to give it up. I think it's extortion by Hillary and a totally sleazy thing to do, but it appears that he's going to do it. I was hoping like mad he'd choose her as his VP but after this stunt, I am kind of glad he may not.

[pinkyboo]

And if he does it - so is he!

Lets not be hypocritical about this.

[gladys46]

You watch too much tv ... that sh.t's illegal!! You've also apparently been so jaded by Bush, Inc. and that sort of crapola ... it'll take you awhile, I suppose, to clear your brain cavities of that stuff!

No dem wants to throw this election ... no!

[alaintex]

What does this sound like? From the article:

"Among other things, the donors want to make sure Obama knows that in order to get their help he needs to help Clinton pay down her campaign debt. As of the end of April, Clinton had more than $20 million in debt, a figure that likely increased by the time she suspended her campaign June 7.

Obama cannot use his campaign money to help Clinton with her debt, which includes at least $11 million of her own money. But he can encourage his donors to contribute to her campaign."

Why would he encourage his donors to do anything for her, unless there was something in it for him?

[speakingtruth2power]

Speaking from experience, it is cheaper to stop digging, when you find yourself, in a hole.

[FilthyPerson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbpWonUzlrc&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxBX8sz3tO8&feature=related

[msmaggie]

I find it comical and yet a little sweet that there are so many Obama supporters who really and truly think he won't be going after the deep pockets of Hillary's donors.

Well if that unicorm with the basket full of money and sunshine shows up, he won't have to; otherwise, he should and will.

[purplestategal]

I heard the final tally of the Clinton campaign debt is closer to $30 million..... wow.

[4Detroit]

HRC donors tried to hold the gun to Nancy Pelosi's head. Now they are trying to hold it to BO's head. BO has over 1.5 million donors. HRC has 18 million votes, but, is over 20 million dollars in the hole.
Does that tell you something?

[msmaggie]

Please don't call him "BO", you know where that will go. And he will take their money, gun or no, so suggest you don't climb too far out on that limb.

[JRandomPoster]

Problem is, HuffPo has a really horrible moderation triage algorithm. If you use a candidate's or first or last name, the post will go into the moderation queue.

[4Detroit]

Will Billy Bob due?

[Flagal]

Yes, it tells me that many of her votes were simply votes against BO, not votes for her.

[GravitonX]

MSNBC keeps pushing this fiction of a "Clinton voters." The truth is since Hillary lost all respect from voters and for herself, the only way she could generate votes was to focus on divisively mudslinging Obama with contempt. The problem is that they were NOT voting for Hillary, they were voting against Obama, which means when the dust settles, they still don't respect her. This is why Hillary has been and is perpetually broke, and these mythical Clinton 17 million voters who could wipe out her debt for less than the cost of a Big Mac haven't given her another dime.

[robjh1]

Clinton is a democrat, and vowed to do whatever is necessary to help Obama get elected. No big surprise here. Maybe the some (the meda) thought she wouldn't help.

[GravitonX]

If everyone of her supposed 17+ million fanatical followers coughed up $2, she'd be out of debt.

[Midnightrain]

they're too busy being "hard working w h i t e Americans"

[HumeSkeptic]

The ones who were going to get a gas tax holiday.

[orangepetal]

good luck in Nov jerk
PUMA

[DRPike]

Shes says there are 18 million of them, that's only $1.66 each. Great supporters, yes?

[HumeSkeptic]

That buys a gallon of Kentucky moonshine.

[HumeSkeptic]

That 17 million is an approximate number. The real number now is about 7.

[PerfectGent]

Let the 50+, white women supporters bail her out. I am a long time supporter of Obama, I have worked for his campaign, donated money and asking us to pay off her debt is a kick in the face. What a waste of binary code!

[gladys46]

I'm just not believing this $$$ strapped thingie! Even if those large donors are tapped out ... where is the proof that O needs to assist in fundraisers to retire her debts!! If her bottom line is documented, what can be the explanation of "a" h.il Machine" having trouble retiring this debt ... even her own payback of 11mil Was she really that unorganized, mismanaged ... misdirected!!? Really!!?

[likeicare]

I don't know why anyone in Hillaryland still thinks she has a chance at the VP slot -- there's no way in hell Bill will ever let anyone peek at his sleazy business deals, so that's dead.

I'll contribute to the Dems when Hillary's debt is paid off, or she and Bill have entered therapy for treatment of their narcissism. Until then, they don't a dime.

I still don't trust the Clintons.