A small but revealing report from Time magazine this hour: Hillary Clinton has joined Mitt Romney as a so-called "self-funder", putting $5m of her personal money into her campaign.
Why is this significant? As the Democratic race drags on, both Clinton and Barack Obama will need a constant cushion of cash to finance new hires and television commercials in battleground states. And while Obama hauled in a record $32m last month, Clinton only took in about $13.5m. The former first lady needs a boost and was able to give herself one.
That $5m boost was made possible, at least in part, by the personal savings that the Clintons have carefully built since they departed the White House. Which brings up the second reason why the loan is significant; prepare for more reports on the private partnerships that have helped the Clintons amass that wealth.
