No DNC/Clinton Fundraising Agreement For Now

Time's M. Halperin breaks the news that the Obama campaign and the DNC are about to sign a joint fundraising agreement whereby Obama's contributors' checks/debits over a certain dollar amount will be shunted to the national committee's bank accounts. An Obama campaign spokesperson confirmed that an agreement was being set up.

The DNC is discovering the perils of its neutral stance. In having news leak about an agreement with one of the campaigns, suppoters of the other campaign -- about half the party -- might be alienated. (The DNC denies it's the source of the leak.)

A month ago, the DNC approached both campaigns about the idea. The immediate reaction inside the Clinton campaign was skeptical: they did not feel that their donors would jump up and down to support the DNC without a sense that the DNC had a plan to deal with the votes and delegations from Florida and Michigan. Nonetheless, staff level discussions were held, but none involving the key decision maker: indeed, a call between DNC executive director Tom McMahon and Clinton campaign manager Maggie Willams is scheduled for Monday.

A DNC official said that the party has been "briefing both candidates on what we’re doing and are preparing for two scenarios. We continue to step up our efforts on John McCain with our ad (another one will be coming soon), polling, general research comm rapid response, etc. We have talked to both campaigns about fundraising – we have an agreement in principal with the Obama campaign and are talking with the Clinton campaign."