Clinton camp looking for Obama money

The Obama campaign has stepped up the pressure on its donors to help Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) retire her campaign debt, but the Clinton campaign wants even more action, according to donors on both sides.

Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are appearing together at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington Thursday night at a meeting of her biggest givers so she can introduce him and encourage them to fund his general election campaign.


Her campaign chairman and chief money man, Terry McAuliffe, will also speak. Obama will deliver remarks, and then they plan to open the floor to questions, according to organizers.

People who have talked with key Clinton donors say the donors want Obama to show a specific plan for helping her retire her campaign debt. These donors are holding back on donations to his campaign until they get that assurance, according to the sources.

In addition, Clinton’s superdelegates want her accorded the courtesy of a roll call vote at the August convention in Denver, although that issue may not come up at the Mayflower meeting, the sources said.

Obama’s national finance chair, Penny Pritzker, e-mailed top supporters yesterday with a follow-up to a Wednesday conference call, and urged them to start collecting checks.

“Barack has asked each of us to collect five or six checks to help Sen. Clinton repay the people who provided goods and services to her campaign. He made this request in the spirit of party unity,” she wrote. “We recognize that this has been a long and, at times, hotly contested campaign. But in the same way Sen. Clinton has asked her supporters to move beyond the primary campaign, Barack has asked us to help in this effort to defray her debt. As he said on the call, ‘We are all in this together.’”

Attached is a Clinton campaign form with the familiar Hillary logo: “Yes! I would like to make a contribution to Hillary Clinton for President for the 2008 Primary Election Debt Retirement. (Maximum contribution is $2,300 per individual and $4,600 per couple for the entire 2008 primary.)”

So will the checks start pouring in?

An Obama aide said: “People are definitely open to it and participating.”

An excerpt from the Pritzker e-mail:



As those of you who were on the call yesterday heard, Barack has asked each of us to collect five or six checks to help Sen. Clinton repay the people who provided goods and services to her campaign. He made this request in the spirit of party unity. Sen. Clinton has promised to do everything she can to help us beat John McCain. On Thursday she and Barack are meeting with her biggest fundraisers to ask them to join us in our efforts. On Friday, Barack and Sen. Clinton are making their first public appearance together in Unity, New Hampshire. Already several Clinton supporters are raising money for Barack. We recognize that this has been a long and, at times, hotly contested campaign. But in the same way Sen. Clinton has asked her supporters to move beyond the primary campaign, Barack has asked us to help in this effort to defray her debt. As he said on the call, “we are all in this together.” … As Barack made clear on the call, this is important to our effort to bring about the change our country needs. Every time he has asked us to help, we have delivered for him. I am confident we will do the same this time.

Thanks,

Penny