Hillary Clinton bags $1 million in soft money in August

Campaigns meet to discuss fund-raising truce

From CNN Correspondent Brooks Jackson

NEW YORK (CNN) -- As campaign aides to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York Rep. Rick Lazio met to discuss ending the use of "soft money" in their U.S. Senate race, a CNN survey found Clinton's supporters contributed more than $1 million in the unregulated donations to aid her candidacy last month.

The two candidates' campaign managers and aides met face-to-face for an hour in a Manhattan hotel Thursday. Each side still appears to be questioning the other's sincerity, but they say they are hoping to reach an agreement by Saturday night. The Lazio and Clinton campaigns are also discussing a ban on spending by advocacy groups, including direct mail.

Soft money is illegal for campaigns to accept directly. Political parties spend it for "issue ads" that praise their candidates -- and attack their opponents.

Clinton has so far raised more than $4 million in soft money contributions through special fundraising committees. The money is helping to pay for two new television ads that debuted Thursday morning, appealing to voters in upstate New York, covering 57 percent of the airtime purchase.

Clinton's donor list, compiled from Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reports by CNN, includes plenty of old Clinton friends and supporters.

Former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and his wife, who are in for $50,000, or former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who put up nearly $34,000. So it won't be surprising if some of Clinton's big donors also turn up on the list of guests who have spent the night at the White House -- a list expected to be released by Friday.

Donor list includes comics legend, mutual fund boss

Mrs. Clinton also has raised her soft money from people like Wall Street mutual fund magnate Jack Dreyfus, who gave through a Clinton committee called New York Senate 2000. Records show Dreyfus has given $250,000 so far, mostly in soft money, making him Clinton's top donor.

Two Westport, Connecticut, women -- wealthy widow Sandra Wagenfeld and friend Francine Goldstein -- together have given a total of more than $228,000.

It's illegal for labor unions to give directly to candidates, but the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- the major public employee union, headed by Jerry McIntee -- has given $125,000 to Clinton's soft-money committee.

Other big donors include New York insurance man Walter Kaye and his wife Selma, who gave $125,000 -- and apparently forgiven for helping get an internship for Monica Lewinsky. And Stan Lee Media, led by the longtime Marvel Comics chief and Spider-Man creator, gave $100,000.

One possibly controversial donation of $25,000 gift came last month from Metabolife International, makers of a diet pill that the Food and Drug Administration is trying to regulate because of concerns about several deaths.

Metabolife has so far donated $50,000 in soft money to aid Clinton's campaign.

A wary meeting in Manhattan

Soft money emerged as a big issue after the two candidates' debate in Buffalo on September 13. Brandishing a contract that he said would ban soft money, Lazio strode over to Clinton's side of the stage during the face-off. Clinton refused to sign until conservative organizations and political parties agreed to stop their soft-money spending on Lazio's behalf.

Lazio, the Republican nominee for the Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, said as the campaigns met Thursday that each has a chance to make a statement on an important issue by swearing off soft money.

"We don't need a law to do the right thing," he said.

But Bill De Blasio, Mrs. Clinton's campaign manager, cast doubt on Lazio's sincerity -- especially since the state Republican Party was not among the 14 groups who signed pledges to stop running campaign ads on Lazio's behalf.

"Any soft money ban that does not include the state Republican Party is laughable on its face," he said. "In addition, we have not received any signed agreement from the chair of the New York State Conservative Party, perhaps because the party is currently running a soft money attack ad against Hillary."

Mrs. Clinton had proposed a ban on soft money contributions and outside expenditures when her opponent was New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the race in May.

Wednesday, Lazio produced signed agreements from 14 conservative groups pledging to halt any planned spending on his behalf, fulfilling a challenge Mrs. Clinton presented him with at the end of last week's televised debate.

"We'll have to see how serious the offer is," Mrs. Clinton told reporters in Buffalo, adding she would have to see "what the fine print details of it happen to be."

Lazio in turn challenged Mrs. Clinton to reciprocate within 72 hours, leading to Thursday's meeting. Outside groups have spent 12 times as much on ads promoting her candidacy than groups advertising on behalf of Lazio.