2012 presidential race: Expense reports give peek at candidates’ priorities, styles
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on July 18th, 2011 4:35 am by HL
2012 presidential race: Expense reports give peek at candidates’ priorities, styles
Mitt Romney is big into political consultants and security guards, underscoring the establishment nature of his campaign. Newt Gingrich is so fond of the Internet and luxury jets that he got himself $1 million in hock.
And President Obama has devoted about a third of his $14 million in early expenditures to fundraising — suggesting that it really does take money to make money.
These and other details, gleaned from the first major spending reports of the 2012 campaign, provide a revealing look at the contrasting priorities and styles of the White House hopefuls. Taken together, the candidates burned through $32 million for telemarketing calls, posh hotel rooms, makeup artists and myriad other expenses, even with the first ballots still half a year away.
Clinton voices U.S. support for Greece’s recovery plan
ATHENS— U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced strong American support Sunday for Greece’s plan to recover from its financial crisis, calling its latest proposals to reform “vital first steps.”
“We know these were not easy decisions, they were acts of leadership,” Clinton said in Athens while meeting with Greek officials. “We know the price of inaction would have been far higher.?.?..The payoff for these sacrifices will not come quickly, but it will come.”
Besides praise for Greece’s leaders, however, Clinton carefully avoided weighing in on the larger debate between Greece and other European nations over how to settle the escalating debt crisis.
