EXCLUSIVE: Democratic donors rewarded with W.H. perks

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By Matthew Mosk

President George W. Bush rewarded his 246 "Pioneers," who raised at least $100,000, with perks that included overnight stays at the White House and Camp David, parties at the White House and Mr. Bush's Texas ranch, state dinners with world leaders and overseas travel with U.S. delegations to the Olympics and other events, according to a 2004 review by the Associated Press.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama acknowledged he suffered "from the same original sin of all politicians, which is we've got to raise money," but said that he would fight against donor influence if sent to the White House.

"The argument is not that I'm pristine, because I'm swimming in the same muddy water," Mr. Obama said during a campaign appearance. "The argument is that I know it's muddy, and I want to clean it up."

Democratic officials said they think it is important to note that Mr. Obama's efforts to reward major donors are, in their view, on a far smaller scale than those of any other recent president.

"I would say that from our reckoning, our research, there are fewer donors getting fewer things, whatever you may call them, from this White House than from any White House in memory," Mr. Woodhouse said.

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Since taking office, Mr. Obama has pledged that his administration will be "the most open and transparent administration in history" and has agreed to make public the names of those who sign into White House visitor logs, though a request from The Times for logs that show visits from his top 45 bundlers has so far gone unfilled.

Requests for guest lists to various White House events, such as a recent cocktail reception surrounding the celebration of the Pittsburgh Penguins' National Hockey League Stanley Cup victory or the Latin music concert last week, have also been denied repeatedly.

Doling out ambassadorships

The most traditional aspect of the Obama administration's continued outreach to donors has involved the time-honored practice of doling out ambassadorships to his most prolific financial benefactors. The task of matching up bundlers to foreign posts was overseen by Chicago lawyer David Jacobson, who served during the campaign as the deputy to finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker, several of Mr. Obama's ambassadors said in interviews.