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Bottoming out in the presidential race can still pay off big time for the losing candidates

By Richard Lacayo

(TIME, March 25) -- What with Steve Forbes and Ross Perot, a lot has been said lately about rich men crowding into presidential politics. But that misses half the story. An unsuccessful run for the White House is a matchless opportunity to acquire wealth, not just flaunt it. In war it may still be the victors who get the spoils. In presidential politics, losing pays better. Whoever wins in November can look forward to a $200,000 annual salary, a White House ringed with tank barriers and a Camp David getaway that's been described as "a medium-quality boys' camp without the horses." The also-rans are in the fast lane to Candy Land.

First the speaking fees. Robert Barnett is the contract negotiator for vice-presidential losers Geraldine Ferraro and Dan Quayle and First Lady coulda-been Kitty Dukakis. In his calculation, an articulate candidate who departs the field with an honorable discharge--no scandals, a statistically detectable base of voter support--"can do five or six speeches a month, at fees ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 a speech, for a year at a minimum." Arithmetic: $600,000 to $2.1 million in the first year.

Books? Publishing insiders say a high-profile candidate could command an advance of $300,000 and more. What's a high-profile candidate? One with controversial positions and some success among angry voters. Publisher Judith Regan, whose celebrity authors include Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern and O.J. prosecutor Chris Darden, sums up the field, "When I look at Lamar Alexander, I don't say, 'Aaah, book.' When I look at Steve Forbes and Pat Buchanan, I say, 'Aaaah, book.'"

[Pat Buchanan]

But not just any book. Publishing sources say that a few years ago, Buchanan attempted to shop around a weighty manuscript on his 1992 campaign. No takers. A dutiful account of a short-lived presidential bid didn't look like a good bet. Buchanan might do better this time, says a prominent editor, if he offered a book on "how Dole and the Establishment tried to force him out of the race."

The third of the big-three cash streams is broadcasting. In his last 13 months on Crossfire, Buchanan made $367,350. When his campaign is over, says CNN spokesman Steve Haworth, "we very much hope to have him back." No doubt they do, but Pitchfork Pat's higher name recognition should make his fees negotiable. He could also take a second crack at radio. Hugh Rodham, formerly a Florida Senate candidate and still the brother of the First Lady, launched a show of his own in December that's already on 43 stations. Buchanan's talk show last year was picked up by more than 100 stations, enough for a $232,000 payday. A realistic goal now would be to overtake the 125 that carry defeated Senate candidate and radio talker Oliver North. Impassioned also-ran Alan Keyes, who used to host a talk show heard in 10 markets, could also return to the mike.

But what do you get for Forbes, the man who has everything? Product placement. Whatever else it was, the Forbes campaign was effectively a Forbes campaign, a six-month promo for the candidate's business magazine. In the long run, the boost in name recognition for his publication could well be worth more than the $30 million Forbes spent on the race. (Compare it, for instance, with the $150 million Ford Motors spent last year to relaunch the redesigned Taurus.) But to realize the advantage, Forbes may have to return full-time to publishing. In the first two months of this year, while he was away from the office, ad pages dropped 23% from the comparable period in 1995.

Media execs agree that whatever the candidates do to cash in, they had best do it soon. Old candidates have a limited shelf life. How limited? We'll know this summer when bookstores get Gary Hart's The Patriot: An Exhortation to Liberate America from the Barbarians. Free Press editorial director Adam Bellow, his publisher, says it's modeled on Machiavelli's The Prince: "He provides a world view and political advice to anyone running for office in the current media-saturated environment." That environment, plus Donna Rice, was the very thing that undid Hart's candidacy in 1988. How come he didn't write about it then? "Well," says Bellow, "it took him a decade to fully grasp the implications." Somebody should have bought him a calculator. --Reported by Tom Curry/New York and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum/Washington

ALAN KEYES

HOW MUCH HE SPENT
$1.8 million (as of Jan. 31)

WHAT HE WILL GET OUT OF IT
A doubling of his speaking fees, from $7,500 to $15,000

WHAT ELSE HE COULD HAVE BOUGHT
A 20% stake in an AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio

STEVE FORBES

HOW MUCH HE SPENT
$30 million (estimated)

WHAT HE WILL GET OUT OF IT
Prestige, influence on next year's tax debate in Congress, wider name-brand recognition for his magazines

WHAT ELSE HE COULD HAVE BOUGHT
75,000 years of tax-preparation services at H&R Block OR 75,853 22-karat-gold Krugerrands OR two Highlander-type yachts, plus $2 million worth of fuel to run them

PATRICK BUCHANAN

HOW MUCH HE SPENT
$10.6 million (as of jan. 31)

WHAT HE WILL GET OUT OF IT
A $300,000 publisher's advance for a forthcoming book, if he chooses to write one

WHAT ELSE HE COULD HAVE BOUGHT
A 236-acre prime Napa Valley vineyard (which could produce 885,000 bottles of Chardonnay a year) OR 79 Mercedes-Benz S-600 luxury four-door sedans OR 73,311 black felt Stetson cowboy hats


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