# McCain says Obama's cash will lead to scandal **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 19, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671 "2008-10-19T22:19:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/61 "2008-10-20T19:08:41Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Could the McCain camp tap into the notion that there’s something wrong with being able to just “buy” an election by having enough money to outspend the other guy? Could such high fundraising numbers be made to backfire on Obama to some extent, in some demographics? Just wanted to say that I think this is a great question. I don’t know that McCain’s camp can make it a big enough issue to meaningfully impact voters by the election (I don’t think time is on his side to make it stick). However, it wouldn’t surprise me if, should Obama be elected, that message doesn’t get used by McCain’s party to undermine the perceived legitimacy of Obama’s administration. That said, there were much more solid reasons to view Bush’s election as illegitimate, but that didn’t matter in the long run, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/62 "2008-10-20T19:34:27Z")
> [@Beadalin](#): > > Just wanted to say that I think this is a great question. I don’t know that McCain’s camp can make it a big enough issue to meaningfully impact voters by the election (I don’t think time is on his side to make it stick). However, it wouldn’t surprise me if, should Obama be elected, that message doesn’t get used by McCain’s party to undermine the perceived legitimacy of Obama’s administration. True, but given that so many donations were small individual donations rather than a few big ones, there’s just as strong a case that this was simply average Americans voting with their wallets, which is Good and Just and Capitalist. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/63 "2008-10-20T19:41:09Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s nothing wrong with lots of small donations. It’s a good thing, and McCain is primarily casting random aspersions. I’m just saying that if nobody’s keeping track, you can do the same crooked things with big numbers of small donations that you can with large donations. Not all the same crooked things, at least. If we had no limits, then you could have some super-rich elite calling up a candidate and saying “I’ll donate a million bucks to your campaign if you’ll pass legislation favoring my industry”. He then makes the donation, and the candidate has a million-dollar check with Mr. Elite’s signature on it to prove it. On the other hand, if Mr. Elite divides his contribution up into five thousand $200 chunks and tells each of his employees “Donate this to Sen. Candidate’s campaign fund”, then when it comes time to call in the political favors and Mr. Elite calls up President Candidate and says “You owe me one”, the candidate can say “No I don’t, you only donated $200, just like all of your employees”. It is still certainly possible for Mr. Elite to choose a candidate who already supports the policies he likes, and then do what he can to get him elected, but it’s at least harder to change the views of the candidates themselves with the donations broken up into small chunks. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/64 "2008-10-20T19:51:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It is still certainly possible for Mr. Elite to choose a candidate who already supports the policies he likes, and then do what he can to get him elected, but it’s at least harder to change the views of the candidates themselves with the donations broken up into small chunks. The candidates, I think, know the score. But this is all theoretical regardless, and most of the actual donating goes on without their knowledge. (It’s not like Obama would be impressed by an offer of a million-dollar bribe/donation at this point anyway- his campaign makes a million dollars several times a day.) I didn’t hold Clinton responsible for the business with Norman Hsu and I don’t think any of this weirdness is a reflection on Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/65 "2008-10-20T20:10:29Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Let’s put a stake through the heart of this undead creature, and continue to shout from the rooftops about the empirical evidence that the economy does better under Democrats than Republicans. From yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle: > [@](#): > > **The economic sweepstakes quiz** > > Sunday, October 19, 2008 > Here’s the Economic Sweepstakes Quiz. Guess which president since World War II did best on these eight most generally accepted measures of good management of the nation’s economy. > > You can choose among six Republicans: Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush; and five Democrats: Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton. (No peeking.) > > Whose watch produced: > > 1. The highest growth in the gross domestic product? > > 2. The highest growth in jobs? > > 3. The biggest increase in personal disposable income after taxes? > > 4. The highest growth in industrial production? > > 5. The highest growth in hourly wages? > > 6. The lowest Misery Index (inflation plus unemployment)? > > 7. The lowest inflation? > > 8. The largest reduction in the deficit? > > The answers are: 1 Harry Truman; 2 Bill Clinton; 3 Lyndon Johnson; 4 John F. Kennedy; 5 Johnson; 6 Truman; 7 Truman; 8 Clinton. In the Economic Sweepstakes, Democratic presidents trounce Republicans eight times out of eight! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/66 "2008-10-20T20:40:11Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Let’s put a stake through the heart of this undead creature, and continue to shout from the rooftops about the empirical evidence that the economy does better under Democrats than Republicans. [And on that note…](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/14/opinion/20081014_OPCHART.html) ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/67 "2008-10-21T00:21:07Z")
One of the things that the $200 limit does is allow people to donate without exposing their names as contributors to employers. I wonder if the point is to lower that limit to $0 so as to discourage participation. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/68 "2008-10-21T02:46:33Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I think that’s McCain’s point. With all those small donors, there’s no oversight to make sure that the donations are legal. I have a confession to make. I have made two (2) small donations to the Obama campaign, totalling $60. I did this in an attempt to influence his campaign in a corrupting manner. And also to get a t-shirt! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671/69 "2008-10-21T02:50:21Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > And also to get a t-shirt! 😃 Won’t you be surprised when Obama appoints you US Attorney for the northern district of Illinois. Corruption pays big time! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-says-obamas-cash-will-lead-to-scandal/468671.md?page=3)