Even for the woman who made “18 million cracks in a glass ceiling,” turning a $21 million campaign debt into a $3 million surplus in a period of slightly more than a year (most of which she was either campaigning for Obama or serving as his secretary of state) is exceedingly impressive. Though not quite as successful as her new boss in the realm of fundraising, she clearly has a firm grasp on her financial situation. Despite significant help from the Democratic National Committee and the Obama camp after her concession, her campaign was still drowning in a sea of debt as of May 2008. So, amidst an economic meltdown, which friends of Hillary were willing to write out a check to “Friends of Hillary?”

Maybe it was the same group that decried Obama’s victory over Clinton as a result of massive voter fraud or the ones who persistently got themselves kicked out of Obama rallies. Actually, on second thought, they probably would not have enough money for their own subsistence, let alone political donations. However, a slightly less crazy segment of Hillary’s fan base, the disaffected, recalcitrant Hillary voters who threatened to mugwump (or rather, reverse-mugwump) their way over to the McCain camp, may hold the key to this equation. After all, these people have already displayed their penchant to prioritize personality over actual issues.

Granted, I am somewhat biased in that I am a bit of an Ebenezer Scrooge when it comes to campaign contributions in the first place, but I am utterly confounded as to what could compel anyone, even if he or she still sports a “leaving the DNC if HRC isn’t the nominee” bumper sticker, to give money to a defunct presidential campaign. I can think of a laundry list of causes more worthy than “Hillary Clinton for President….Oh wait, I mean Secretary of State?” Put simply, there’s a reason that Bono is globetrotting on behalf of AIDS victims and not Hillary Clinton. But even if you “acted stupidly”(to quote President Obama, out-of-context, of course) to help retire Hillary’s campaign arrears, why would you donate now when she has more than compensated those to whom she was in debt?

All jokes aside, the politically relevant question is not how her financial fortunes from the red into the black, but why. To quote Clinton herself from her website (which is still imploring visitors to contribute), “as we take the next steps in our journey, I know you’ll be right there with me, as always, in my heart and by my side…” Accordingly, there has been much speculation about her ambitions for another presidential run in 2016. However, in a recent press conference after her filing with the Federal Election Commission, she insisted that she has no plans for any elective office. FEC regulations stipulate that Clinton cannot collect more than her debt, but can accumulate a small surplus to cover the closing costs (legal and accounting fees, etc.) of the committee. Now, I am not quite sure why these costs would not be classified as debt, but then again, I have never run a campaign. Nonetheless, I do know that the Secretary of State job does not require the employment of eight full-time “campaign staffers” who each receive a reported $100,000 annual salary. To put this in perspective, Senator Chuck Schumer, her former colleague from New York who is actually running for office, maintains a staff of only three.

One of her staffers told an ABC reporter that the committee does not plan to retire all of its debt immediately. If Clinton does not have some kind of political ambitions, or selfish desire to exercise financial clout in any upcoming elections, why has she not paid back Mark Penn’s consulting firm (to which most of the current $1.5 million in debt is owed) despite having more than in her coffers to do so?

As secretary of state, Clinton is prohibited by federal law from personally soliciting funds for herself or other political candidates, so any attempt to roll over this surplus to a future campaign or to transfer funds to another candidate might be questioned from a legal standpoint. As much of a healthcare crusader as she claims to be, she should turn her surplus over to the DNC or Obama or donate to a health related charity. At the very least, she should focus on doing her job as secretary of state and avoid posturing for a future that exists only as fantasy.