More data from the Federal Election Commission filings of the presidential candidates, compiled by New Hampshire political consultant Chip Griffin, whose Web site www.griffinsg.com usefully organizes all the numbers:
George W. Bush may not have officially announced he's running, but you wouldn't know it from his FEC report. It shows a $ 220,225 payment to chief aide Karl Rove -- recently profiled in these pages -- for "consulting fee and expenses." This gives Rove bragging rights; no other consultant pulled down as much.
There are a number of other revealing figures. It can't be a good sign, for example, that Al Gore's biggest expense, $ 72,634, was for legal advice; Bill Bradley's single biggest expense, $ 53,647, was for fund-raising. Dan Quayle, meanwhile, has shelled out $ 56,275 for "Internet services" . . . you can supply your own witticism. John McCain, hardly one to shape his positions for public opinion, spent a whopping $ 108,000 on "polling."
The most interesting entry? Lamar Alexander's decision to spend $ 2,100 on career consulting.