Cashed Out

摘要

POLITICAL REPORTERS will do almost anything to avoid making a judgment call. That's why they revel in seemingly objective truths like poll numbers and fund-raising reports, often taking as gospel the boast of bygone Republican Phil Gramm: "I have the most reliable friend you can have in American politics, and that's ready money." In reality, money was a fair-weather friend even in 1996, when Gramm, a Texas senator, was ballyhooed as a major presidential contender because he kicked off his campaign by raising $4.1 million at one high-roller dinner in Dallas. Gramm, who had the charisma of pocket lint, flamed out after losing the Louisiana caucuses, which his supporters thought they had rigged.