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Kerry scrapes for top ceo backers with buffett Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nifea&&sid=aMC0k0kzuKwEhttp://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nifea&&sid=aMC0k0kzuKwE
Kerry Scrapes for Top CEO Backers to Join Buffett, Steve Jobs
July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Senator John Kerry, who says he's reaching out to business, has so far received one-fifth as many campaign donations from chief executive officers of the biggest U.S. companies as has President George W. Bush.
One CEO from a Russell 1000 Index company gave to Kerry's campaign last month, bringing to 52 the number of such executives who have donated to the Democratic presidential candidate. By March 2000, Vice President Al Gore, the eventual Democratic nominee, had 42. Bush today has 280, according to figures compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan group based in Washington.
Attracting CEOs signals voters that a candidate can work with business to ensure economic vitality, say party leaders.
``The Democratic Party regained great credibility during the 1990s as the party of economic growth and which viewed business as an ally, not an antagonist,'' said Senator Joseph Lieberman, 62, a Connecticut Democrat who was Gore's running mate in 2000. ``If you get business leaders on board, it sends a message to the public that Senator Kerry will be a president who will work with the business community to create jobs.
``The country prospers when government and business are working together,'' Lieberman added.
Republicans, with more distaste for government regulation, often outscore Democrats in fundraising among corporate executives. Bush, 58, who stopped personally raising money in April, attracted two more Russell 1000 CEOs last month to reach 280.
`Better for Markets'
``I don't see enough out there to vote against Bush,'' said Joe Moglia, 55, chief executive of Omaha, Nebraska-based Ameritrade Holdings Inc., the biggest discount brokerage by trading volume. ``I think it's better for the markets.''
Among the CEOs who have endorsed Kerry, 60, are Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Warren Buffett, Apple Computer Inc.'s Steve Jobs and Google Inc.'s Eric Schmidt.
Bush has won financial backing from the CEOs of nine of the top 10 U.S. companies ranked by market capitalization, including Intel Corp. CEO Craig Barrett. Pfizer Inc. CEO Hank McKinnell and American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice Greenberg each have raised at least $200,000 for Bush.
Other CEOs from the top 10 U.S. companies who have given to Bush include Microsoft Corp.'s Steven Ballmer, General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey Immelt, Johnson & Johnson's William Weldon, Wal- Mart Stores Inc.'s H. Lee Scott and Bank of America Corp.'s Kenneth Lewis.
Citigroup
One CEO of a top 10 U.S. company has given to Kerry, Citigroup Inc.'s Charles Prince. He gave a matching $2,000 contribution to Bush.
Kerry said on May 5 that the names of more executives backing the campaign would be released soon. Steve Rattner, 52, a Kerry adviser who is managing principal at the New York investment firm Quadrangle Group LLC, is assembling a list of business supporters, according to Gene Sperling, 45, an economic adviser to Kerry.
``I think Senator Kerry will have significant business support,'' said Sperling, a Bloomberg News contributor who was chairman of the National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton.
Democratic Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey, the former co- chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co., agrees.
``Democrats have been good for business,'' said Corzine, 57. ``There's no reason Senator Kerry would follow dramatically different policies than under the Clinton administration.''
Smaller Donors
Both Kerry and Bush have broken fund-raising records this year by turning to smaller donors, often via the Internet and direct-mail campaigns. The average donation to Kerry's campaign last month was $71, from 195,000 contributions. Bush's average was $58, from 83,099 contributors.
Kerry has raised about $185 million since last year, more than any previous Democratic presidential candidate. Bush has raised about $230 million.
The maximum allowable donation to presidential candidates is $2,000 per person. Corporations are barred from giving company funds to candidates.
Democratic Party leaders including Lieberman say Kerry needs to replicate Clinton's success in attracting CEOs during his 1992 campaign for the White House.
None of the CEOs of the top Wall Street banks have endorsed Kerry this year. In 1992, Clinton won the endorsement of the top executives at three Wall Street investment banks: Robert Rubin at Goldman, Sachs; Archibald Cox Jr. at First Boston Corp. and Richard Fisher at Morgan Stanley. In the past year, the CEOs of those three companies have each raised at least $100,000 for President Bush and none have given to Kerry.
Hewlett-Packard
Rubin, 65, now chairman of Citigroup Inc.'s executive committee, was Clinton's treasury secretary from 1995 to 1999 and is backing Kerry.
Clinton also won endorsements from CEOs outside the financial community, including Hewlett-Packard Co.'s John Young and Kentucky Fried Chicken Corp.'s John Cranor.
The state of the economy may have played a role in building support for Clinton among business leaders. In the four years up to 1991, when George H.W. Bush was president, the federal budget deficit rose 73 percent to $269.4 billion. The unemployment rate peaked at 7.8 percent in June 1992, rising from 5.3 percent in December 1988.
Bush, the father of the sitting president, didn't seem to have any plan for reviving the economy, said Morgan Stanley's Fisher, who says he voted for the elder Bush in 1988 and for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
``I thought his fire was out,'' Fisher, 68, said of Bush. ` ``I just was taken with the youth and energy of Clinton.''
Job Creation
The current President Bush says last year's tax cuts helped the economy add 1.3 million jobs in the past six months. Kerry says the added jobs pay, on average, $9,000 less a year than those lost in contracting sectors of the economy.
The U.S. jobless rate was 5.6 percent last month, down from 6.3 percent in June 2003, the highest level during Bush's tenure.
Federal Reserve officials predict the economy will grow as much as 4.75 percent in 2004 from last year's fourth quarter, and 3.5 percent to 4 percent next year.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in congressional testimony last week that job growth this month will be ``somewhat better'' than in June, when the U.S. added 112,000 jobs, less than half the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
The lone June donor to Kerry from among Russell 1000 CEOs was Aramark Corp.'s William Leonard. Aramark, based in Philadelphia, provides food services to hospitals, schools and sports arenas. Leonard gave Kerry $500; he already had given $2,000 to Bush.
Altman, Spector
Among Kerry's advisers are Symantec Corp. CEO John Thompson, Evercore Partners LLC co-founder Roger Altman, Bear Stearns Cos. President Warren Spector and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder. They say his pledge to eliminate tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year will help cut the deficit and lower interest rates, boosting economic growth.
Bush pushed through tax cuts totaling $1.7 trillion in his first three years in office.
Kerry's business advisers say his plan to pay for three- fourths of company health-care bills when employees incur so- called catastrophic costs of over $50,000 will help lower insurance premiums by up to 10 percent.
``This is a team that would represent fiscal responsibility,'' Spector said in a conference call with reporters arranged by Kerry's campaign this month.
Kerry, and his choice for vice president, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, a former personal-injury lawyer, should create ``a great deal of concern and anxiety'' for the business community, William Miller, political director at the Washington- based U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said this month.
Class-Action Suits
The Chamber supports the Bush administration's effort to limit class-action lawsuit awards as a way to curb increasing health-insurance costs.
None of Kerry's votes in the Senate matched the Chamber's positions in 2003, giving Kerry a zero percent rating from the group. He got a 100 percent rating from the AFL-CIO, the largest union confederation. Edwards received a 100 percent rating from the AFL-CIO and a 15 percent mark from the Chamber.
Bush has received campaign contributions from 17 of the CEOs of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies. Kerry has received the support of one: Citigroup's Prince.
Bush's campaign spokesmen didn't respond to a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment for this story.
One Democratic Party supporter, Thomas Castro, 49, president of Border Media Partners LLC in Houston, said he isn't surprised Bush is leading in support from CEOs.
`Natural Constituency'
``Republicans organized CEOs first because that's their natural constituency,'' said Castro, whose company owns 16 Spanish-language radio stations and has 140 employees. ``It's easy to win people's affection when you're giving away money left and right. But thoughtful business people realize the tax cuts have to be paid for by somebody.''
Ameritrade's Moglia, who has given $2,000 to Bush, says he hasn't been impressed by the Democratic challenger.
``I haven't seen enough out of Kerry in strength and conviction in terms of his platform,'' Moglia said.
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