$$$ I am regular guy. $$$
As he prepares the framework for the next Bush presidential campaign, brother Jeb is keen on showing that he is
one of the little people.
An unusual request has gone out to wealthy donors writing large checks to support former Florida governor Jeb Bush: Please don’t give more than $1 million right away. [...]
The move reflects concerns among Bush advisers that accepting massive sums from a handful of uber-rich supporters could fuel a perception that the former governor is in their debt.
Yes, apparently in the wake of Mitt Romney's departure from the not-race Jeb Bush finds himself in the position of having so many fabulously wealthy people throw money at him that he is in danger of looking like, gasp, the candidate of the fabulously wealthy. So he's begging them to space it out a bit.
The effort is also driven by a desire to build as broad a pool of donors as possible among wealthier contributors.
In other words, it is far better to receive $15 million from 15 different people than $15 million from just one, because later on that's 14 more people you can hit up for additional donations when the race actually, you know,
starts.
The perceived need to put limits in place for contributions, even if only for a few months, underscores the extraordinary role that elite financiers play in political fundraising, which increasingly centers on super PACs able to collect unlimited sums from individuals and corporations. The move reflects the sensitive challenge facing candidates who want to tap into those resources without relinquishing their claims of independence.
That is indeed a sensitive challenge. I see now that these politicians do indeed understand the plight of the average American. He has had to give up all of his luxurious jobs serving on various corporate boards, and now his career must live off the kindness of others.
Bush is entering his third month of an intensive, cross-country fundraising tour that has included stops at lavish Manhattan apartments, premier Washington lobbying shops and luxury hotels in Florida. [...] Dozens of backers have given $100,000 a piece to get into high-end super PAC fundraisers, such as one last month at the Park Avenue home of private-equity titan Henry Kravis.
His life is a nonstop blur of silver cutlery and extravagantly priced wines. He is near delirium from having to repeat
thank you for paying $100,000 for the privilege of watching me chew food so many times and to so many people. But Jeb Bush is his own man, and Jeb Bush insists you keep the rest of the money in your wallet until his campaign staff comes a-courting once again, lest observers get the idea he is primarily beholden to wealthy people.