Newman, Buffett, Baldwin and Chevy Chase pony up for '08

Guest posted by David Lightman at 9:19 am CST

Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut may be little-known nationwide and drawing only a blip in early polling for the 2008 presidential campaign, but he has close to $5 million to spend on his campaign, and he's drawing some of it from some very well-known Hollywood people.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, longtime Westport, Conn., residents, are among the Democratic senator's donors. So are balladier Jimmy Buffett and actor Alec Baldwin.

For more on Dodd's ties to the entertainment industry and the money he's tapping, see the Courant's account of the candidate's robust early fund-raising:

Chevy & Susan & Alec Like Chris

Celebrities Backing Dodd Campaign

By DAVID LIGHTMAN
Washington Bureau Chief

February 9 2007

WASHINGTON -- Chris Dodd might be especially fond of one of Paul Newman's best-known films, "The Color of Money."

And why not?

The cash flowed as the stars came out in Dodd's 853-page campaign finance report, released this week by the Federal Election Commission.

Giving money at the end of 2006 to Dodd, then only a prospective candidate, were longtime Westport residents Newman and Joanne Woodward. But they were hardly alone.

Other luminaries who opened their checkbooks for the presidential bid by Connecticut's senior senator included Jimmy "Margaritaville" Buffett and Alec "30 Rock" Baldwin; actress Elisabeth Shue; and orchestra leader Peter Duchin.

From New York came a group of "Saturday Night Live" folks. No surprise there, because Dodd is a big fan and a friend of the show's executives.

And that might be why Chevy Chase, one of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, gave dollars to Dodd. Also on the donor list were former SNL producer Marci Klein; former executive producer Dick Ebersol, now NBC Sports chairman; and his wife, Susan Saint James.

Dodd has long been an entertainment industry favorite. (His own film career began and ended when he played himself in the 1993 Kevin Kline/Sigourney Weaver hit "Dave.") Dodd held two fundraising events in Los Angeles last fall.

Among the glitter-givers were top executives Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of Sony Corp.; Ron Meyer, president of Universal Pictures; and Tom Werner, Boston Red Sox co-owner and executive producer of "The Cosby Show" and "Roseanne." Walt Disney President Robert Iger also gave to Dodd, as did "Ghostbusters" producer Bernie Brillstein, and lots of others.

All of these celebrities helped pour $3.25 million into Dodd's treasury, which meant that he began 2007 with $4.9 million to spend on his campaign. Only one other candidate, in either party, raised more, although it was a lot more: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton reported that she already has raised $11 million for the 2008 presidential race.

While the celebrity factor is impressive, the report shows even more that, although Hollywood helps, the financial industry is key.

As the new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Dodd pulled in $463,000 from political action committees, many of which have business before his panel.

Just the ones starting with the letter "A" fill several pages: Accenture, Aetna, AFLAC, Allstate, American Bankers Association, American Express, American Insurance Association and AXA Equitable Life, among others.

The real test for Dodd, though, will come in mid-April, when the next FEC report is due - and after front-runners Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards have spent the winter cranking up their money machines.

Will Dodd wind up with just a fistful of dollars?

Could be, because it's not unusual for actors, like everyone else, to give to many candidates. Most of Dodd's celebrity donors have not given to other presidential efforts, although Chase has been a generous contributor to Clinton's campaigns.

They do have a history of giving to others, however. Newman contributed to 2006 Connecticut Senate hopeful Ned Lamont, while Buffett donated to three House candidates in the last cycle, and Baldwin helped Democratic Senate candidates.

At least one sign is ominous for Dodd - he's not yet one of the luckiest people in Barbra Streisand's world.

The singer is a big Democratic giver - among her beneficiaries last fall were successful Connecticut congressional candidates Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy.

But so far, it's not the way we were for Dodd and the diva. When he was party general chairman in 1996, Streisand called the senator a political "adviser" and later gave to his 2004 re-election campaign.

This time, she said in a statement, "Because I want to see the front-runners have the financial backing they need to be competitive during this process, I've decided to make the maximum allowable primary donation to Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama."

But Streisand did hold out hope. "As the conversation continues," she said, "I may make contributions to other candidates as well."

David Lightman is Washington bureau chief for the Hartford Courant, a Tribune Co. newspaper.