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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (241006)	3/22/2002 5:33:09 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Democrats Get Big Pay Day Friday, March 22, 2002 WASHINGTON — A billionaire media mogul has given the Democratic National Committee $7 million, believed to be the single largest donation ever to a political party. The DNC also recently received a $5 million check from Hollywood producer Steve Bing that would otherwise have held the record. "I hope that my contribution will inspire Democrats that are much richer than me to step up to the plate higher than me," said "Power Rangers" creator Haim Saban, the $7 million donor. "I will be very happy to be fifth in line." Word of the seven-figure checks comes as President Bush prepares to sign a ban on such unlimited "soft money" contributions to political parties. It was passed by the Senate this week. Anticipating the ban, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe has been traveling the nation for several months raising money for a new party headquarters to rival that of the Republican National Committee. The estimated $32 million building will feature state-of-the-art technology including computer systems and television and radio studios. McAuliffe's sales pitch struck a chord with Saban, billionaire chairman of the Saban Capital Group and creator of the hit children's television show. Saban, a prolific giver to Democratic campaigns, sent his check in early February. "The Democrats are in the Stone Age, the Republicans are in the 21st century" in technology, Saban said Friday. "We are for the most part a two-party nation and I thought it would be a disaster if one party were to play in an uneven playing field." The checks take the DNC a long way toward its fund-raising goal, spokeswoman Maria Cardona said. Fourteen donors have pledged most of the money needed for the new building, she said. Several contributors, including labor unions, gave $1 million each. The DNC plans to break ground on the building this spring and have it completed by December 2003, Cardona said. Under the new campaign finance legislation, political parties cannot raise soft money after this fall's election or spend it after Dec. 31. The DNC is talking with its lawyers about how it can use all the soft money it has raised for the building while meeting the spending deadline, Cardona said. The previous party donation record was believed to be a $1.7 million check the Republican National Committee received from Amway Corp. in 1996 to build a TV studio. Saban, who gave Democrats $1 million for the 2000 election, is chairman of McAuliffe's capital campaign. Saban said he has asked his friends to donate for the headquarters and gave a big check in part because "you better be willing to put your money where your mouth is." Campaign-finance watchdogs predict Saban's record will fall before the soft-money ban takes effect. Political fund-raisers from both parties will likely play off it, telling big donors "you can do better than that," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "It becomes a real game of one-upsmanship which is just magnified by the fact that this is the last time you can do it," he said. foxnews.com

To: calgal who wrote (241006)	3/22/2002 5:36:35 PM
From: Ish	Respond to of 769667

Makes sense to me.

To: calgal who wrote (241006)	3/22/2002 5:51:41 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Call me cynical, but how will they differentiate between legitimate businessmen and would-be terrorists crossing the borders when they can't do it at airports. Everyone is treated the same way before boarding a plane. Perhaps the easing of the borders will help Bush's in-laws by-pass customs and avoid "accidents" such as Columba Bush had.(Columba Bush, formerly Columba Garnica Gallo, was born in Leon, Guanajato, Mexico in 1954. )I guess it's a case of noblesse oblige, as usual...Columba Bush says she's ashamed about run-in with U.S. Customs Thursday, July 29, 1999 By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press ORLANDO - Florida's first lady said Wednesday she was ashamed about failing to declare $19,000 worth of clothes and jewelry she purchased on a Paris shopping spree last month. "The embarrassment I brought on myself made me ashamed to face my family and friends," Columba Bush said in her first public appearance since her run-in with U.S. Customs officials in Atlanta. Florida's first lady, Columba Bush, addresses the 1999 Kids for Wish Kids luncheon sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Orlando Wednesday. Bush told reporters she was ashamed about failing to declare $19,000 worth of clothes andjewelry she purchased on a shopping spree last month. Peter Cosgrove / AP Mrs. Bush was fined $4,100 and became the butt of jokes by Jay Leno and others after the incident made headlines across the nation. Speaking at a luncheon for the Central Florida Make-A-Wish-Foundation, Mrs. Bush apologized for what she called "an awful mistake." Mrs. Bush said she now realizes the responsibility that comes with being married to Gov. Jeb Bush. "I am by nature a very private person, some might even call me shy," she said. "I did not ask to join a famous family, simply to marry a man that I loved. But with that decision came a responsibility beyond anything that I could imagine and my recent actions made that painfully apparent." Mrs. Bush paid the duty and fines with a personal check after she landed in Atlanta on her return from Paris to Tallahassee. International travelers do not have to pay duties on foreign purchases that total less than $400. Mrs. Bush declared only $500 worth of merchandise. Mrs. Bush told reporters the governor has helped her through the public criticism following the incident. "Jeb has been wonderful. He has been very supportive, very loving and he says 'C'mon, we have to keep on going,'" she said. Mrs. Bush wouldn't elaborate on what she purchased nor did she offer an explanation for why she failed to declare the merchandise. "It's an accident and I regret it with all my heart," she said.