July 15, 2003

Bush Campaign Nearing $100 Billion Mark

Buying Fox Network, President as Reality Host Considered

Contributions are pouring in so fast that the Bush re-election campaign says it will have no difficulty reaching its goal of $100 billion dollars by election day 2004. The goal, announced in March, 2002, was 20 times greater than the $5 billion raised for the 2000 presidential election.

Amassing such an enormous campaign war chest raises the possibility that the Bush campaign might resort to expensive tactics never before seen in a presidential election. One such tactic, widely discussed by the news media, has been to pay a $1,000 bonus to every Democrat who switches and registers as a Republican and an additional $1,000 bonus to every registered Republican who then votes on election day.

Officials at both the Committee to Re-elect the President and the Republican National Committee refused to say how the funds will be spent.

On Wall Street, investment bankers said that high-level Republicans had been making inquiries about purchasing a television network or a newspaper chain that owns a large number of major city television stations.

One banker who had been approached said purchase of the Fox network was being seriously considered because its conservative, pro-Bush news coverage would be a natural fit and because President Bush is keen on being the host of a Fall, 2004 reality program called "Who Wants to Be President?" The banker refused to provide details about the program. "It appears he's a huge fan of the reality genre and keenly wants to host one," the banker said.

In Beverly Hills, California, Ultra-Star Luxury Bathrooms, Inc., confirmed that the Secret Service had placed an order for six gold-plated toilets and bathroom vanity sets for Air Force One. Mort Lititz, a designer who decorates executive jets for film stars, said the Air Force One bathroom project would cost "at least $100,000."

Raeburn Flannagan, a spokesman for the Bush re-election campaign, said that "most of the money coming in is from people of very modest means, people who make only $150,000 or $200,000 a year but still send checks for $25,000 and $30,000." He said there had been "numerous cases" in which former welfare mothers who had gotten off welfare because of Republican-supported reform programs had sent checks for $1,000 or $2,000 with notes pinned to the cash that said, "Thank you, George Bush, Mr. Compassionate Conservative."

"Some of them bring tears to your eyes," Flannagan said.
Asked by reporters about contributions from political action committees (PACs) and other high-dollar contributors in past elections, Flannagan said their contributions had been "nominal."

"It's no more than in the past," he said. "You need to remember that in today's political landscape, Republicans are the party of the People and George Bush is the President of the People."

Separately, a special cabinet-level investigatory committee said it found nothing suspicious about an anonymous $100 million dollar wire transfer made last month from a bank in Damascus, Syria to the bank account of the Bush re-election campaign. The committee, comprised of the attorney general, the secretaries of Treasury and Homeland Security and the directors of the FBI and CIA, ordered that the money be released to the campaign.

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