Coingate: Bush to speak in Columbus next week

Not the greatest timing I would say.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaind...810.xml&coll=2

Why would the President worry? (1) He didn't do anything in regard to
Coingate, and (2) he's well into his second and final term.

Hell, I'll bet Mr. Noe gave money to John Kerry and Al Gore and Bill
Clinton too. Nothing like covering all the possible bets when you're
playing with monies that aren't your own anyway.

oly

stonej wrote:
Not the greatest timing I would say.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaind...810.xml&coll=2

You aren't looking at the big picture.

Bush receiving money from Noe and
giving it back draws attention to the
scandal and embarasses local
Republicans. What kinds of questions do you think local reporters are
going to be
yelling at Bush after he gives his
speech?

Big Picture? The President can simply ignore the press. Big money
people give contributions to all the candidates. The average person
doesn't care.

oly

You still don't get it. He will of course
ignore those questions but the attention
of the local media will still be focused on
the scandal and his possible connection
with it.

Listen, the first posts here in RCC said Bush got $100,000 from Mr.
Noe. Then the next set of posts went down to $4,000 or $6,000.
Everybody know (Noes?) that none of those figures have any influence
whatsoever in presidential politics. President Bush has no connection
with Coingate.

The local media has no influence either. I live in a state capitol
city (Springfield, Illinois) and our little local press retards can out
"liberal" the staffers of The New York Times any day. These reporters
are all little idiots and everybody know they are.

We wouldn't be reading the stuff from Ohio either, except for your
persistence in finding it. These news items are interesting, but they
don't and won't change anybody's political opinions. The American
people are numb and those who still care are solidified into two
political camps - a very small liberal elite and a very large (and
largely silent) majority who are highly conservative.

oly

You have your facts all mixed up. Bush did indeed receive $100,000+
from Noe
but they are only returning $4,000-$6,000 of it at this time.

I'm not interested in changing anyone's political opinions and I don't
really care
what their opinions are.

This is a very interesting story with ramifications for coin collecting
in a number
of areas (regulation of coins as an investment) etc.

Sorry if you don't like my persistence in finding these news items but
apparently
many people do find it interesting.

I think that if this situation bothers you so much please just put me
in a killfile
and put "Coingate" in a kill fill and you will feel a lot better.

I tried to word my response carefully - I do enjoy these Coingate
things. Keep posting them. Just don't kid yourself that the President
of the United States is involved. He isn't.

People who give $100,000 to anybody running for President have more
money than sense. Political influence (these days) derives from who
went to school with whom, who worked as a congressional staffer with
whom and to those who got in on the "ground floor" with a candidate
when he or she first ventured into the public arena. Finally,
influence sometimes to people who give really really big money.
$100,000 isn't big money. It takes $40 million or so to run a
successful presidential campaign.

oly

I'm not saying he is directly involved. I would say there is an
"association embarassement" in receiving money from Noe. What Noe
would expect to
receive in return for $100,000+? I have no idea. Maybe it is just an
ego
feeding thing in being associated with powerful people. Sometimes
money
can plant a seed for further political advancement in the future by
being noticed
by people on the inside.

"Association embarassment" is one of the most overworked political
ploys in recent American history and people are numb to that dead horse
too.

Let's say that a realistic presidential candidate was looking for
financing for his or her $40 million campaign. For this example, let's
say that the only money available was from individuals in increments of
$100,000. That would (theoretically) make that candidate beholden to
400 different people. Who could possibly serve 400 masters? In this
scenario, it is likely that somebody will get a favor from a
presidential victor, but it would STILL probably take something more
than just money.

The reality of presidential campaign finance is far far more complex,
and someone who donates $100,000 usually gets to shake hands with the
candidate and gets a nicely framed photo as a souvenir. Since that's
about all you get, your campaign contribution is more of an ego thing.
The $100,000 photo goes up in your office to impress your own silly
clients, kind of like the other show-off stuff - the really expensive
car, the excessive 12,000+ square foot mansion and the trophy second
wife. Real political influence in the U.S.A. derives from many
factors. Money isn't everything.

Please keep posting 'em, but let's look instead to see if the Coingate
money influenced the coin hobby associations and their executives, the
major grading services, the auction houses, etc. That would be amusing
enough.

oly

stonej wrote:
I'm not saying he is directly involved. I would say there is an
"association embarassement" in receiving money from Noe. What Noe
would expect to
receive in return for $100,000+? I have no idea. Maybe it is just an
ego
feeding thing in being associated with powerful people. Sometimes
money
can plant a seed for further political advancement in the future by
being noticed
by people on the inside.