The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

PRODUCTION VALUE br> Apparently a picture is worth about a thousand words and $150,000. That's what it cost the Democrats to throw their memorial rally for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone at the University of Minnesota on the eve of the November elections. /p>

The next morning, a picture of Bill Clinton laughing with former Vice President Walter Mondale at the event ran in newspapers across the country and helped set off what many consider to be a turning point in the Republican drive to take back the Senate. In the end, Republican Norm Coleman defeated Mondale.

The tab, which included tens of thousands of dollars for video and sound equipment at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena, was initially picked up by the Wellstone campaign. But according to a Democratic National Committee staffer, a day before the event the national party promised to cover many of the expenses to ensure that the memorial service would be set up in a way to appeal to a national audience. "We're on the hook for at least half of that $150,000, is my guess," said the DNC source. "We're the ones who really pushed for an event that would play well on C-Span and on TV. You have to admit the production values were good."

The national party will probably also pick up the tab for Bill Clinton's appearance. It's like to reimburse the Wellstone campaign for the $16,000 it claimed it spent on "travel expenses" for the event. "That's probably all Clinton," says the DNC source. "Most of the other Democrats flew there on the government's dime."

topics:
Bill Clinton, Environment, Law