Fund-Raisers Greet Clark Warmly, but Not All Purses Open
By GLEN JUSTICE
The New York Times
nytimes.com
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 — Gen. Wesley K. Clark has met Democratic fund-raisers from California to New York in recent weeks in an effort to finance his presidential run and has drawn a mixed reaction of curiosity and caution.
General Clark had lunch with the film director Steven Spielberg; received a call from Steve Kirsch, founder of Infoseek, the Internet search engine, and a major donor; and then went to a party where he was the guest of honor at an event given by Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone, efforts that yielded varied results. Although Mr. Kirsch said he would most likely support the general, Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Wenner held off from raising money for the primaries.
"We recognize the challenge is to convert all this unbridled enthusiasm and turn it into meaningful contributions of money and time," said Mark Fabiani, an adviser to the general's campaign.
Strategists who have worked on presidential campaigns said that as a fresh face in the race General Clark could expect a burst of contributions in the coming weeks. Maintaining such support will depend on attracting established fund-raisers and using the Internet to draw large numbers of small donors.
"The key is not the first couple million," said Anita Dunn, a Democratic consultant who worked on Bill Bradley's campaign in 2000. "The key is sustaining it."
General Clark is the 10th candidate in the Democratic field. Most of the other candidates have cultivated fund-raisers and gathered money since 2001. Some will probably raise $20 million or more this year.
Whether a latecomer can attract enough cash is a question that will turn on how Democrats receive General Clark. The books close on third-quarter financial reports on Sept. 30, and General Clark's supporters hope that his meetings with fund-raisers will energize efforts.
"It's difficult for people to make a commitment without having met somebody or spending a bit of time," said Susan Patricof, a fund-raiser in New York who supports the general. "I'm confident that when people do meet Wes, many of them will be very enthusiastic about supporting him."
Sarah Kovner, another fund-raiser supporting him, said she was fielding offers of money and help after she held a 70-person reception for the candidate at her home in New York.
Jordan Kerner, a film producer in California, said he had noticed great interest since holding a 200-person reception for the general.
Mr. Kerner said, "A lot of people made large commitments to him, in the millions of dollars."
One question is whether General Clark's ties to former President Bill Clinton will translate into money. "He's from Arkansas, so he shares many friends with President Clinton," said Skip Rutherford, a fund-raiser who is president of the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation.
Still, many fund-raisers say they are waiting for a clear Democratic front-runner to emerge. Battered by requests, they are interviewing presidential hopefuls to gain a sense of who can beat President Bush. Melvyn Weiss, a lawyer who has assembled a group of 25 donors and fund-raisers who hope to identify the best candidate, said General Clark had been well received by the group.
"We've been throwing money away in the past without thinking about electability," Mr. Weiss said.
Mr. Wenner used his town house in Manhattan for his reception, inviting guests like Chevy Chase, Michael J. Fox, Bette Midler and Jerry Seinfeld.
Asked how active he would be in raising money for candidates in the primaries, Mr. Wenner said: "We'll see how it goes. I'm saving my firepower for the general election."
Mr. Spielberg; his colleagues from Dreamworks, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg; and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax Films, are among those taking a cautious approach, aides said.
Another tactic is to support several candidates. Mr. Kirsch said he would most likely raise money for General Clark, as well as former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont.
Fund-raisers are not the sole source of money. General Clark will also focus on small donors, taking advantage of supporters who have laid the groundwork for months, Mr. Fabiani said. Among them are John Hlinko, a Democratic consultant, and Josh Margulies, a Republican lawyer, brothers-in-law who created the draftwesleyclark .com Web site.
Because the group is a political action committee and thus subject to federal contribution limits, it will not turn over big money to the campaign, Mr. Margulies said. Instead, he said it planned to lease or sell a list of people who pledged $1.8 million to the campaign for collection. |
