Only the wealthy can chase the American dream
Price tag on running for the White House is nearing US$1b
The American dream is that anyone can become president, but the reality is that getting into the White House is a game for the wealthy.
That is becoming even more the case as the cost of 21st century presidential campaigns approaches US$1 billion.
This week's Republican convention will showcase the bid for re-election by President George W. Bush, who hails from a wealthy East Coast family - as does his challenger, Democratic Party contender John Kerry. Even Mr Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, who was raised in poverty, became a wealthy lawyer before entering politics.
A visiting fellow with the liberal Brookings Institution, Michael McDonald, said personality, connections and a nationwide organisational structure were essential pre-requisites to run for president. But funding was most important of all.
'In the end, it all comes down to money,' Dr McDonald said from Washington.
As of last month, official figures showed Mr Bush's campaign had raised US$243 million and spent $209 million. Senator Kerry had raised $304 million and spent $182 million. A further $212 million in soft money had been raised by both camps.
The election war chests, more than double the amounts raised by previous campaigns for the presidency, set a dizzying benchmark for future contenders - even though the US constitution does not say that massive funding is necessary to attain the post.
Instead, it provides that a candidate must be a 'natural-born' American citizen, at least 35 years old and have lived in the US for 14 years. The candidate must be nominated by a national political party's convention and be elected by a majority vote of the Electoral College in the December following the general election in November.
The implication that any American citizen had the opportunity to become president was not strictly true, the analysts said. The reality was that contenders were financially well-to-do and had powerful political connections - as had Mr Bush and Senator Kerry.
Dr McDonald said running a campaign took enormous amounts of money. Years of planning and much capital were necessary to build networks to train campaign workers in all 50 states.
Even before that stage, though, was the need for ambition and energy to take on the task.
'You've got to be willing to sacrifice your life for this one calling,' Dr McDonald said.
A candidate also had to be intelligent to communicate with voters and know the issues.
David King, a political scientist at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, believed candidates needed to be 'political contortionists'.
'You have to lean very far to the left or right to get nominated by the party's base, then appear to be a centrist to appeal to the majority of traditional voters,' Dr King said.
