Strategists are estimating that the two major-party candidates in the 2008 presidential election each will spend $500 million. This money will come from private donors, since the more modest public campaign funds just won’t cut it anymore in a major election.
Almost half the money will be spent communicating the candidates’ messages to the voters in the form of print advertising, TV and radio ads, webcasts, podcasts — any possible way the candidate can reach the American people. It will be a deluge. The balance of the money will be spent on campaign offices and workers, polling, information gathering, travel expenses for the candidate and entourage, and, of course, lawyers to make sure all those ads are compliant with campaign finance laws.
Sen. Barack Obama has proposed a voluntary agreement to limit general campaign fundraising and spending. So far none of his leading rivals, in either party, seems to want to take him up on it.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- gster on Goldman Sachs ‘apology’ hollow
- SolDevVB on Open thread 11/24
- SolDevVB on Open thread 11/24
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- Pleefer on Open thread 11/24
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/24
- donndublin on Open thread 11/24
- minutelady on Open thread 11/24
- minutelady on Open thread 11/24
27 Comments
Criticize Obama all you want, but that idea is what seperates him from all the rest of the politicians who all look alike anymore.
Although a noble idea coming from Obama, I would question the reason why he is making the statement. Could it be that Hillary will our raise him in campaign contributions by a long shot?
He’s afraid of Hillary, granted that. But the candidate with the most money doesn’t neccesarily get selected for the nomination or elected. Although it is a damn good indicator that they will.
Obama got a tough fight ahead. The last tough election battle he has ever done he lost by a wide margin, so I can see where his fear is. But going against Hillary will be the ulitimate test for anybody, not just Democrat candidates, but any Republicans as well.
Billary will try to buy the election like the carpetbagging bitch she is.
By your standards, does this make Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) a carpetbagging bitch, also?Or is she different because she is a repub?
Or media could just be required to donate advertising like in many other countries.
Funny that THE EAGLE didn’t bring that up . . .
I am a political junkie and even I am overloaded with presidential politics.
Now they are talking about moving up the California primary to February 2008 – nine full months before the General Election.
Amazing.
Somehow or another the process has to be dialed back – a shorter campaign season at less cost – or Americans in general are just going to tune out the whole process.
And that would completely defeat the concept of democracy.
WSClark! What about the runoff concept.
Agreed Joe, I think we should run off damned near all of them.
LOL!
This brings up the need again for the Fairness Doctrine.
Republican candidates get almost unlimited 24/7 FREE campaign ads in the form of talk radio. There is NO Democrat balance to this.
As to the campaigns themselves?
They should be limited in spending and tax funded. Level the playing field.
He who has the most money should not have the biggest voice.
Brown: No, it’s different because she was born and raised in North Carolina, educated undergrad at Duke University, and has had roots in North Carolina her entire life. Unlike Billary, who rode a subway once in NYC. Perhaps, you should review the definition of “carpetbagger”?
Anyone who thinks that money doesn’t talk in our Nation’s Capitol might be right. Cash doesn’t really talk – it screams!
Take George W’s recent state-of-the-union speech. After six years in office, the prez finally got around to admitting that there’s this little, festering problem called global warming. Top scientists, industrialists, evangelical leaders, and others are alarmed by this looming disaster, so Bush tried in the speech to make it sound as though he had a “bold” plan for dealing with climate change. But all he really gave us was a bold fib. Indeed, even before Bush spoke, presidential mouthpiece Tony Snow admitted that the one essential reform to stop greenhouse emissions would not be a part of the plan: “We knocked that down. That’s not something we’re talking about,” he said.
What made Bush so meek? Follow the money. The staunchest opponents to even the mildest steps for halting global warming are Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and other oil giants. In last year’s elections, oil corporations pumped $17.5 million into congressional campaigns – 83 percent of it going to Bush’s Republicans. In 2004, George himself got $2.6 million from Big Oil – eight-and-a-half times more than went to the Democrat.
Look also at the congressional vote this year to rescind a $14 billion tax giveaway to oil corporations. With Democrats now in charge, this take-back passed in the house, but money still spoke for many of the members. Those who voted to protect Big Oil’s subsidy had received nearly $22,000 in oil contributions – five times more than those who voted to stop the giveaway.
This is Jim Hightower saying… It’s time to quiet the shrill voice of big-money politics by providing a public financing option for all national elections, just as several states have done for their elections. To follow the flow of money in politics and learn about effective reforms, check out http://www.opensecrets.org.
Ms. Dole actually has an impressive resume. I just checked it out to see about her background.
Duke University, graduating in 1958.
Master’s degree from Harvard University in 1960 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1965.
Worked in the White House in the latter years of the administration of Lyndon Johnson.
Deputy Assistant to President Nixon for Consumer Affairs
Appointed her to a seven-year term on the Federal Trade Commission.
Served as United States Secretary of Transportation from 1983 to 1987. With her most notible action was implementing the 3rd brake lights on all cars and witholding federal highway funding from any state which had a drinking age below twenty-one.
Served as United States Secretary of Labor from 1989 to 1990.
From 1991 to 1999 she was president of the American Red Cross.
Now a current Senator for N. Carolina.
That’s pretty impressive
Thank you, Joe. Damned impressive, in my books!
Liddy Dole?
Every other word out of her mouth is “Praise god” this or that. She’s a total non entity.
Elizabeth “LIBBY” Dole. G. Gordon LIDDY. They don’t even look alike, JR.
Selling a candidate is no different than selling soap or soda. You got to be on TV to sell stuff. That is why Clorox outsells the store brand bleach even though it cost more and bleach is bleach. TV can convince people that item A is better than item B even though they are the same because most Americans have the IQ of a rock (don’t believe that? watch Jay Leno’s Jaywalking).
YOu know the Doles are just opportunistic a-holes like the Clintons are. Carpetbaggers. Funny that Kansas was “so great” when Bob was a Senator but now they live in North Carolina. Same with the Clintons and Arkansas.
WS- The primary system in this country sucks when 2 small states that have nothing in common with the nation as a whole have so much say over who gets elected President. The primary election should either be held in all states on a single day OR a state that has demographics that represent the country as a whole- like Illinois- should go first.
RM, why are you so damn cranky?
They DO call her LIDDY DOLE!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Dole
Looks like you owe someone an apology for jumping all over them when they were right!
Hey thanks kfg! I THOUGHT I was right about that! But I wasn’t for sure. Libby….Liddy… the gal who sleeps with the guy who takes the little blue pills.
RM hasnt come back to apologize yet?
I THINK rm is an attorney kfg. I seem to remember reading that. I could be wrong.
If he is he is probably looking for a way to make his mistake my fault!
What does rm have to apologize for? Apologize for poor editing on the part of some dyslexic editor from Wikipedia? Might want to Google, Libby Dole, and see what you turn up.
Dyslexic editor?
Google – liddy “elizabeth dole” -
You can get a LIDDY Dole bumper sticker.http://www.cafepress.com/republicanred.16929374
Look at the last Billion Dollar Pres. we got! In a December opinion article in The Washington Post, Columbia University history professor Eric Foner wrote that Bush was likely to join mediocre presidents like Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.
“Even after being repudiated in the midterm elections of 1854, 1858 and 1866, respectively, they ignored major currents of public opinion and clung to flawed policies. Bush’s presidency certainly brings theirs to mind,” Foner wrote.
Foner’s article was headlined, “He’s the worst ever.”
craiger?
An msn search on “Liddy Dole” has Elizabeth Dole’s senatorial home page as hit #1.
But thanks for playing.