PHILADELPHIA — The dream makers, power brokers and underwriters of George W. Bush's run for the presidency have been holding their own convention this week, behind the smoky glass of the First Union Center's most luxurious sky boxes.
In this rare environment, suspended high above the convention floor--and away from peering television cameras--the suits are better cut, the women more expertly coiffed. Bartenders serve free drinks, and the food is top of the line--herb goat cheese, shrimp and prime rib. But the most arresting distinction is the aura of self-congratulation among these would-be kingmakers.
For these men--and most of them are men--know that they have paved the way for Bush's parade into the White House with their quarter-million-dollar checks and their record-breaking fund-raising efforts.
They wear discreet solid-gold elephant pins and less discreet black name tags that set them apart as the Bush regents: $250,000 donors. In a fund-raising season when money has flowed in faster and in greater quantities than ever before, the official count showed 137 regents a few days ago, according to Fred Meyer, chairman of Victory 2000, the campaign arm of the Republican National Committee.
While delegates languish at cheap airport hotels, the regents stay at the Four Seasons. While delegates get pep rallies, regents get insider briefings from top-dog Bush officials about the strategy for the campaign's final stretch.
At a luncheon gala Wednesday, they had a private photo session with Bush. Their names were projected on huge screens before a crowd of 3,100, and they sat at front tables in a hall so large that most folks had to look at the screens to see Bush, the keynote speaker.
A party's top donors and fund-raisers are courted and catered to at all times. But nowhere is the wooing and special treatment more intense than at modern national conventions, where the predetermined political outcomes focus attention on building enthusiasm for the party and padding its bank accounts.
Top-level donors and fund-raisers bask in appreciation from the nation's top elected officials, revel in the excitement of being influential players in the political arena and relish rubbing shoulders with the fellow members of their elite fraternity. And at high-profile galas, they showcase their value to their party, if not the American political process.
Critics Say Money Corrupts Process
