Acedemia Has 08 Clout. Gives more than oil or pharma to candidates

[illinoisprogressive]

Professors and others in the education field have given more to federal candidates running in 2008 than those who work in the oil, pharmaceutical, and computer industries -- a sign of how academia has become a much bigger player in the political cash sweepstakes.

Of the more than $7 million that academics donated in the first half of this year, more than $4.1 million went to presidential campaigns, particularly Barack Obama's, according to a study released this month by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The Illinois senator brought in almost $1.5 million, while Hillary Clinton received nearly $940,000.

Republican Mitt Romney was in third place, with about $448,000, but overall, three-quarters of contributions went to Democrats.

Donors from Harvard University top the list, with nearly $280,000 in contributions from individuals in the first half of the year. More than 80 percent of the donations went to Democrats, and about 40 percent to Obama, who graduated from Harvard Law School.

Law school luminaries Laurence Tribe, Charles Ogletree, and Lani Guinier have each lavished the maximum primary donation of $2,300 on Obama, while their colleague Alan Dershowitz gave $1,000 to Clinton.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/08/23/academia_has_08_cash_clout/?p1=email_to_a_friend