A couple peruses the menu at the start of the Republican National Committee's fundraiser this week. Money totals from both parties are not yet available from the Federal Election Commission. But piecemeal data and anecdotal evidence bear out Mr. Noble's assessment. Senate Democrats raised about half that much, but also bested their 1999 performance. Mr. Clinton, who actually seemed to enjoy night after night of portobello mushroom appetizers, holds the record for the most fundraisers ever attended by a president.
Several factors explain the pell-mell drive for campaign dollars so early in the season.
One is the huge stakes of the 2002 elections, with both the House and the Senate up for grabs and districts being redrawn. Another is campaign-finance reform. Indeed, this week's flap over the vice president's reception may serve to shine the spotlight more brightly on reform efforts. In truth, no money changed hands at the Naval Observatory, the sprawling residence and grounds on embassy row, where the vice president and his wife hosted major-league donors. Lincoln bedroom sleepovers - for which they were pilloried by Republicans.