Why Hillary Accepted The Secretary of State Job
by Matt at Dec 7th, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama wants to keep an outstanding commitment before Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes his secretary of state by calling on his donors to help her reduce her massive campaign debt before federal ethics rules prohibit her from doing so.
The urgency is rooted in the size of the New York senator’s unpaid bills and the fundraising restrictions she will face once she joins Obama’s cabinet.
At the beginning of November, Clinton owed $7.5 million to vendors from her failed presidential bid, according to campaign finance records. The largest share of the debt–about $5.3 million–is owed to the polling firm of Mark Penn, the Clintons’ longtime political strategist. She owes hundreds of thousands of dollars for printing, equipment rental, phone banks and other services.