A New View: The Democratic Race Through Green Lenses

Friday, April 18, 2008 | 6:38 PM

By Sarah Scully
Speaking with a former Democratic fundraiser today, my eyes were opened to a whole new way of looking at the nomination battle: Follow the money. No, not in the Watergate way but in the practical way of realizing that the rich and powerful who give money to candidates do not usually do so out of the goodness of their hearts- they expect something in return- be it an ambassadorship, cabinet post or even a night in the Lincoln bedroom. While few see any chance for Hillary Clinton to win, the big money donors who have showered the Clintons with cash for over a decade, do not intend for their money to be wasted. True, many give to both candidates to hedge their bets but the Clinton's have a very loyal base of check writers with major pull in the Democratic party. No matter how rich and powerful, they certainly cannot buy the nomination for her but they could persuade Obama's camp to offer her Vice President. Whereas the idea of the two running together may seem unlikely (even absurd) from a strategy standpoint, from the money standpoint, it makes sense. Money is the gasoline of politics and there are a whole lot of gas pumps out there with the Clinton logo.