The view from Germany: corporate-funded politics

yesiree, THIS is just a little snapshot of what we look like to the rest of the world... it's all about

$$$$$$$

The American presidential candidates are so busy drumming up campaign contributions and grabbing at opportunities to fly around on corporate jets that they have little time left for the people. Fundraising costs run into the millions, which helps explain why half the candidates in the race are already broke.

check out the subtitle that leads the following paragraphs...

Groveling to Get Big

The task of drumming up contributions from potential small donors is probably the least of the candidates' concerns. Big Business is a different story. Soliciting campaign contributions from the senior executives and owners of major corporations is a far more challenging task, one that requires candidates and their staffs to hone and apply the fine art of wooing and cajoling. The road to the White House leads through the living rooms of Hollywood executives, Wall Street financiers, defense industry lobbyists, oil magnates and corporate strategists of every stripe and color. Indeed, groveling is practically a prerequisite for hitting the big time: the country's highest office.

[...]

These major donors, known as "fat cats" in the jargon of campaign managers, hold so much clout that they can sometimes make or break a candidate's political career. Indeed, the bank accounts of the country's economic kingpins contain the raw materials needed to turn politicians into presidents.

The ordinary people are second in line when it comes to being graced by the candidates' presence. But even that isn't always free anymore. Obama, who has raised the most money so far in this year's presidential race, is now charging $25 for tickets to his appearances. But he does offer student discounts.

Political fundraising is now the dominant campaign issue for the public. Who is raising the most money? Who is ahead of whom? What are the candidates' fundraising strategies? It's almost as if the Americans were gearing up to elect the chairman of a nonprofit organization, not a new president.

here's the question that's always asked but never answered...

[W]hy is it that such a wealthy country seems incapable of introducing a clean, public campaign finance system untainted by the odor of corruption?

anyone care to venture a response...? ok... i will... plain and simple, the elites don't want one...

finally, the concluding (and very sad) perspective...

President George W. Bush's 2004 campaign against Democratic candidate John Kerry cost $881 million, which is equal to 0.008 percent of the US national product or 0.04 percent of the government's total budget. Based on these numbers, public campaign financing would weigh in at a cost of $3 per US citizen, once every few years.

By comparison, US per capita spending on pet food amounts to $47 -- a year.

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