G.W. Bush Corruption Perception Index
Number rewarded with ambassadorships: 19
Number of $100,000 contributors to the first President Bush’s 1988 campaign who were rewarded with ambassadorships: 6
Amount a Bush supporter will have to raise for his 2004 campaign to be recognized as a “Ranger,” one step above a “Pioneer”: $200,000
Amount raised by President Bush for the Republican congressional campaign committees on May 21, 2003: $22 million
Amount of time the President spoke at the event: 24 minutes
Amount of time at the event he spent posing for photos with top fundraisers: 40 minutes
Number of letters mailed by Bush-Cheney ’04 to potential campaign donors on May 16, the day President Bush began his re-election campaign: more than 1 million
Cost of a backstage photo with President Bush at a June 23 Manhattan fundraiser luncheon: donor must raise $20,000 for Bush’s 2004 re-election
Cost of a “leadership luncheon” with Karl Rove, President Bush’s senior political adviser: donor must raise $50,000 for Bush’s re-election
Cost of coffee or lunch with President Clinton during his 1995-1996 re-election campaign: $50,000 contribution to the Democratic National Committee
Cost of coffee or lunch with President Bush during his 2003-04 re-election campaign: not yet determined.
For footnotes sourcing these factoids, go to www.publicampaign.org Note that the funds raised by Clinton went to the DNC. Bush funds go to Bush!
OUCH! is a regular e-mail bulletin on how private money in politics hurts average citizens, published by Public Campaign, a non-partisan, non-profit organization devoted to comprehensive campaign finance reform. Every day, we pay more as consumers and taxpayers for special interest subsidies and boondoggles because of our system of privately financed elections. It's time for a change.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------