Didn’t see this coming, but maybe I should have:
On the eve of her historic presidential announcement, Hillary Clinton lost the support of liberal big-ticket donor George Soros to the Barack Obama campaign, the Daily News has learned.
Soros’ switch was a stunner in the Clinton camp, which had hoped to woo him back amid a flurry of exchanges.
“There were e-mails and conference calls,” said one Democrat familiar with the shock that met the Soros defection. A spokesman for Soros stressed that he would support Clinton if she wins the Democratic nomination and noted he supported Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign.
Soros’ move was the latest sign that Clinton’s hold on big-ticket donors is not as strong as many thought. Team Hillary also recently lost Wall Street fund manager James Torrey to the Illinois senator’s camp.
This is not the end of the world for Hillary, but this removes any doubt anyone had about whether Obama would have access to funds to give her a real race.
UPDATE: On a related note, the Hotline notes Hillary won’t accept federal matching funds for either the primary and the general election, prompting David Weigel to respond, “We’ve known for years that Clinton has the potential to raise more money than God, and God certainly doesn’t worry about post-Watergate ‘good government’ laws. The larger issue is whether Clinton’s move compels every other serious candidate to ditch federal matching funds. If so, one of the next president’s first acts in office could be (blissfully) the dismantling of this ridiculous system.”
Man, I hate campaign finance reform. By the time you get used to the new rules, they’re obsolete.