Nice to know our Union Bosses have private jets to take them to their vacation homes in the South of France.
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Jets Help Presidential Hopefuls Hit Road
By SHARON THEIMER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Presidential candidates are flying around the country in planes provided by businesses, labor unions and other special interests, keeping entourages on schedule without the hassles of commercial air travel.
Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and his staff have taken $138,000 worth of flights aboard the private jet of a Dallas law firm. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., has gotten a lift aboard union planes. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark took his first campaign trip aboard a jet owned by a government contractor.
Even though campaigns must pay for flights on private planes based on the cost of first-class airfare or a charter flight, the convenience of having a plane at the ready can be priceless to a candidate facing a frantic schedule to be in as many places as possible as quickly as possible.
President Bush doesn't have to worry about lining up planes. As commander in chief, he travels on the ultimate customized jet, Air Force One, and has reimbursed the government about $84,000 to cover campaign travel this year. At the same time, he has collected about $84 million for his campaign.
Edwards' campaign is among the most frequent users of corporate flights, logging at least $138,000 worth with the Dallas-based Baron and Budd trial lawyer firm, according to campaign reports analyzed by the Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service at the request of The Associated Press.
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Baron and Budd partner Fred Baron and other firm employees have given at least $70,000 to Edwards, a former trial lawyer, campaign records show.
Edwards had at least $19,000 in flights with the Archer Daniels Midland agricultural company, which has a big stake in trade, the federal farm bill and promoting ethanol fuel products.
Gephardt reported at least $6,000 in flights on ADM planes and at least $19,000 worth on a bricklayers' union plane. Gephardt also paid the machinists' union at least $2,085 for travel on its jet. Both unions have endorsed him.
"We fly commercial as often as we can. But occasionally you'll just due to scheduling problems be forced to find alternatives to commercial travel, and both those unions have been generous as far as letting us use their planes," Gephardt spokesman Erik Smith said.
Often, Gephardt is campaigning and trying to get back to Washington to vote in Congress, Smith said.
On the flip side, providing a jet for a presidential candidate has its advantages for the special interests.
"Obviously there is a healthy opportunity for interaction with the candidate, the elected official," said Pete West, a lobbyist for the National Business Aviation Association, a corporate aviation group that wants the government to simplify candidate travel payment rules.
"The company that provides it obviously has a profile enhancement with the political candidate or elected official simply because the candidate is relying on that particular company's aircraft," he said.
Clark paid $11,133 for flights on the Acxiom Corp. jet on Sept. 18, the day after he announced his candidacy, traveling to Florida and Iowa, spokeswoman Kym Spell said. Clark lobbied for and served on the board of Acxiom, an Arkansas-based data analysis firm that has been trying to win Homeland Security Department business.
The campaign of Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., reported at least $19,000 in flights on planes owned by the Colorado-based Tomay Inc. investment firm.
Tomay chief executive Richard Rogel's family gave to Lieberman. Lieberman's campaign paid Los Angeles-based River Horse Investments at least $7,400 for travel costs and The Limited, based in Columbus, Ohio, at least $2,100; employees of each are donors to Lieberman.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., often uses his wife's Flying Squirrel charter airline, paying it at least $70,000 so far.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's campaign reports showed no apparent use of corporate planes; a spokesman said the campaign may have had a few such flights and was checking.
At least one Democratic hopeful, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, intentionally spurns the use of corporate jets, his campaign said.
Bush's campaign is required to reimburse the government for the campaign portion of trips, including flight costs for himself, first lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and campaign staff. Reimbursement is based on first-class service, walk-up coach fare if there is commercial service but no first class, or the charter rate if there's no commercial service.
The government pays travel costs for Secret Service agents, who guard the president on all trips.
The Bush campaign paid White House Airlift Operations about $84,000 from May to September, campaign finance reports show. The Republican National Committee paid at least $21,000 to White House Airlift in the same period.
The campaign sometimes uses corporate planes; it paid Florida-based Zurich Insurance $1,015 for an air charter, for example. Company chief executive Thomas Petway III is one of Bush's "Rangers," people who raised at least $200,000 for the president's re-election campaign.
Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel would say only that the campaign follows the law.
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