Of Fat Cats and Other Angels

JUST $500 used to be enough to buy an ambassadorship. Now it can't even get you a seat in the front row." When Comedian Bob Hope drops that line on the political banquet circuit, it is always good for a few chuckles, especially from that shadowy elite whose six-figure donations keep America's political campaign machinery operating. Call them fat cats, angels, big-money men--by any name, they are all but indispensable to a serious candidate for the presidency.

In his preconvention campaign in 1968, Richard Nixon spent an estimated $10 million, even though he faced no serious challenge in the primaries. To raise the money, he drew upon an assortment of well-known and not-so-well-known contributors. Insurance Millionaire W. Clement Stone, Chicago's--and perhaps the country's--foremost political philanthropist, has said that he gave Nixon more than $500,000 for his preconvention and election campaign. Others who contributed more than generously included John Hay Whitney, Colorado Oilman John M. King, and John Olin of the Illinois chemical family.

For 1972, Nixon has already built up a huge financial edge over the Democrats. The spectacular Republican fundraisers in 20 cities three weeks ago brought in a cool $5,000,000. Another $30 million has been banked from a combination of fund-raisers, private gifts and special-interest contributions.

By contrast, the Democrats are in penury. The party's campaign fund contains a meager $500,000; debts totaling $9.3 million remain unpaid from the 1968 campaign. There is Democratic money to be had, but there are too many candidates competing in an uncertain situation for any of the high rollers to empty their wallets this early. In his brief, six-week run for the nomination, Fred Harris had been able to raise only $160,000 when he quit because he was bankrupt. Birch Bayh, before he dropped out of contention when his wife became ill, reportedly received $150,000 from Milton Gilbert, former chief executive of the Gilbert Flexi-Van Corp., and $50,000 or more from at least three other backers. Of the remaining candidates, active or otherwise, only a few are on sound fiscal footing. HUBERT HUMPHREY. "Hubert's money is in escrow," says one Democrat. When he does pull out the stops, Humphrey can look for assistance to an impressive array of bank accounts--led by a Minnesota financier and longtime Humphrey backer, Dwayne Andreas. Arthur Krim, the New York theater magnate, is still thought to be in the Humphrey camp, and Eugene Wyman, H.H.H.'s big Southern California money raiser, has never left it. At a 60th birthday gala for

Humphrey last May, one Democratic pro gasped: "My God, there's half a billion dollars here."

EDMUND MUSKIE. As yet, no millionaire industrialists or oilmen have primed Muskie's campaign pump. There are in his camp a number of $10,000-and-under givers, among them Norman Cousins, who resigned last week as editor of the Saturday Review; Martin Stone, board chairman of Monogram Industries; and Sumner Redstone, president of Northeast Theater Corp. Muskie also received a boost last week with the addition of William T. King, a G.O.P. fundraiser, to his financial retinue. That was something of a coup. King, who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in California for Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the G.O.P. since 1966, declared that he was changing candidates because he believes Muskie has "character" and Nixon does not. EUGENE MCCARTHY. In 1968 Clean Gene led the list of preconvention spenders with an $11 million outlay. He may not have that much this time round, but neither is he in financial trouble. Harvard Professor Martin Peretz, who gave McCarthy $100,000 to run last time, is one of about 20 contributors who have already put up $200,000 for another campaign. Peretz, whose wife is a Singer heiress, is hesitant to throw the vault wide open "unless Gene shows the determination to make a hard and serious effort." If McCarthy does that, the money is obviously there. HENRY JACKSON. Money has not been one of Scoop Jackson's worries, and it will not be a problem as primary season opens. With Humphrey holding back, Jackson is the most successful Democrat at pulling in big money at fund-raisers; at a $ 1,000-a-couple buffet two weeks ago, he netted close to $200,000. The key figure is Stanley Golub, a Seattle wholesale jeweler who went to law school with

Jackson and has long been in charge of his fundraising. Another law-school classmate and Seattle jeweler, Paul Friedlander, is a big backer. Two other angels are Dan Martin, a large stockholder in the Los Angeles Rams, and Victor Carter, a Los Angeles philanthropist. Jackson's staffers contend that an insignificant portion of his financing flows from the military-industrial community. GEORGE McGOVERN. Though he stands at just 4% in the Democratic popularity polls, McGovern has the most admirable fund-raising operation of all. Without relying upon the checkbooks of the big spenders, he has raised $1,100,000 thus far from some 50,000 contributors --most of them answering direct-mail solicitations. Two large contributions included $25,000 from his finance chairman, Henry Kimelman, and from Max Palevsky, chairman of the Xerox executive committee.

Of the others in the running--John Lindsay, Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty and Republican Representative Paul McCloskey--only Yorty has received a number of substantial individual gifts. His main supporter is his campaign manager, Sam Bretzfield, a Los Angeles garment manufacturer. Charles Luckman, the architectural mogul, is another big contributor. Lindsay, on the other hand, is running out of pocket and wooing New York moneyed liberal Republicans; he has deserted their party, but Lindsay aides are still counting on their support.

Of all the candidates, McCloskey is in the tightest financial bind. His sole big-time benefactor is California Industrialist Norton Simon, who so far has given $40,000. Otherwise, McCloskey has had to appeal to the small giver. "Pete McCloskey," read an ad in last week's New York Times, "would rather have his campaign financed by 10,000 people who want to participate directly than by a few big spenders. It's an oldfashioned, democratic idea."

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