Clinton Willing to Reach Deeper Into Own Pockets

Yesterday's blogs were filled with speculation over whether Hillary Clinton stands a chance after soundly losing North Carolina to Barack Obama and just barely claiming Indiana after Tuesday night's Democratic primaries. Whatever the odds, the money seems to indicate that Clinton, who was worth as much as $50 million in 2006, is resigned to stay in the race until the bitter end. Top Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson told reporters Wednesday that the New York senator is willing to lend her campaign more money to continue competing--more than the $6.4 million she now reports lending over the last month and the $5 million she lent her campaign in February. "The loans are a sign of her commitment to continuing the race, her commitment to continuing the process and her commitment to staying competitive with Senator Obama on television and other areas," Wolfson told reporters.

Clinton's campaign is now reporting loans from herself as part of her total debt after the Center for Responsive Politics recently wrote about her failure to do so, despite the Federal Election Commission's expectation that campaigns lump the sums together. OpenSecrets.org was among the first to list the presidential hopeful's total debt through the end of March accurately at $15,321,562. By the end of March, Obama had not used any of his personal funds for his campaign, yet has still remained ahead of his opponent in the money race. At the end of March, Obama reported just $662,784 in debts.