If Hollywood has a "DaVinci Code," Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has
cracked it.
Top stars such as Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson donated to the
New York senator in recent months, generating the kind of cash usually
associated with a major box office opening - or a potential presidential
bid in 2008.
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 Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., gestures
during a panel discussion at the annual convention of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Wednesday, July 19,
2006 in Washington. Clinton, perceived as the Democratic front-runner
among White House hopefuls, was given a warm reception by the crowd at the
NAACP meeting. [AP]
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Clinton, who doesn't face much of a challenge in her re-election, received
$4,200 from "The DaVinci Code" star Hanks, the Academy Award-winning actor, and
his wife, Rita Wilson.
The itemized donations were made public Wednesday, with the paperwork for
April through June more than 4,000 pages. In that period, Clinton raised almost
$5.7 million, bringing her total for her re-election effort to US$43 million to
date. She had more than US$22 million cash on hand.
That's more than Owen Wilson's new film "You, Me, and Dupree" made in its
opening weekend. Wilson gave Clinton US$2,100.
Another contributor was Chris Rock, one of many comedians who made bawdy
jokes at the Clintons' expense after the investigation into Bill Clinton's
affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. Rock gave the senator US$2,100.
Singer Bette Midler gave the maximum allowed by law, $4,200, as did actor
James Caan.
Other donors included Donald Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples, who gave US$2,000,
and director Rob Reiner, who gave US$3,200.
Billy Crystal donated $4,000, and Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger gave
US$2,100.
The senator's star-studded donor list even included some famous sports names.
Baseball's home run king Hank Aaron donated $300, New York Knicks assistant
coach Herb Williams gave $1,000 and retired New York Rangers goaltender Mike
Richter gave $4,200, as did Richter's wife.
So what did Clinton spend her millions on? In this election cycle, the
senator has spent more than $21.7 million even though she has yet to run a
single television ad. Her two woefully underfunded would-be GOP opponents have
spent more time trashing each other.
Clinton has spent millions on direct mailings to prospective donors. In the
most recent three-month period, she spent more than $200,000 on postage alone.
The campaign paid nearly $650,000 to a company that handles direct mail
business.
The records also provided a tantalizing clue for would-be Clinton sleuths
that she's serious about a White House run: two bills for unidentified campaign
worker travel at the Hampton Inn in Des Moines, Iowa, the state with the first
caucus in the presidential nomination process.
One bill for US$182.25, was dated April 17; a second, for US$145.77, was
dated April 26.
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said the receipts were nothing more than a
clerical error, and that the amounts reflected hotel bills for trips to Albany,
N.Y., and Austin, Texas. He said the paperwork would be
corrected.