Show Me The Money!

Okay, let me get this straight:

Hillary Clinton wages one of the toughest primary battles in recent history and even after the numbers begin to show the Writing on the Wall, The Inevitable Outcome, The Way Things Are... homegirl still won't do the right thing and step aside -- nah, instead she racks up millions more in debt, and now she wants Obama supporters to help her pay it off?

Is she on crack?

The New York Times reports today that a top Obama donor sent an e-mail to other Obama donors practically begging them to help Clinton out of the financial hole she has dug herself into (an estimated $12 million, plus another $11 million of personal money she lent her campaign). Apparently, the Obama faithful are having a hard time reconciling this concept.

The Times was unable to print some of the responses, but managed to find these few comments that weren't expletive laced:

“Why would I help pay off debts that Hillary amassed simply to keep damaging Senator Obama?”

“Gas prices are up, the markets are in turmoil, my kid’s fall tuition bill is coming soon. Writing checks to politicians I don’t like is not at the top of my list.”

“Not a penny for that woman. Or her husband. Or — god forbid — Mark Penn,”

Of course, in any family where there are money issues, sooner or later the finer nuances of each member's character and personality begin to become more transparent as money becomes the issue. Hillary, it seems, might not be as grateful as she should for whatever money the Obama people are able to raise for her. Again, from the Times:

Mr. Obama has asked his top donors to help raise money for her debt, and so far they have come up with less than $100,000 (though more in pledges), Clinton campaign officials said — a “paltry sum,” in the words of one.

While no other presidential candidate has ever amassed so much personal and campaign debt en route to losing the nomination as has Mrs. Clinton, both Clinton and Obama donors say the larger problem for Democrats is that if the Obama camp is seen as unhelpful, Mrs. Clinton, her husband and their supporters could prove something less than a force for unity.

Among the complaints from Obama campaign officials is that Mrs. Clinton’s expectation for help has been a moving target; in other words, it is unclear how much money from Obama supporters will be enough to satisfy the Clintons. Even Clinton officials and donors were at a loss to specify a number, saying only that Mrs. Clinton was helping Mr. Obama with the understanding that he would do more for her.

Clinton donors and campaign officials say they remain surprised — and, among some, offended [offended? really? now that's rich! --vd]— that Mr. Obama has refused to ask his entire list of donors, more than 1.5 million people, to send $5, $10 or more to chip away at Mrs. Clinton’s debt. (Obama officials said they did not want to distract their donors for the main task at hand, raising money to defeat Mr. McCain.)

As much as I'd love to help ya out, Hill -- I've promised my fiancial support (such as it is; a fin here, a fin there) to help get the party candidate into the White House. And like many of the small-time donors you'd like to help bail you out... we're broke as a joke and we've had to get by and find ways to pay off our own debts. I think it's time you learned to do the same.