You think it's cheap to run a sure-to-win cakewalk of a campaign? Hardly. Hillary Clinton managed to spend $36 million on her 30-point victory two weeks ago — about $1.2 million per percentage point. Hillary's never-in-question victory cost her more than twice what New Jersey's Bob Menendez spent to squeak out a win over Tom Kean Jr. and almost twice what Chuck Schumer spent to win an even bigger victory in 2004.

How was all that money spent? Some line items:

• $17 million for advertising, including at least $1.58 million to a Denver-based firm that helped hone her strategy.
• $2.5 million to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
• $1.1 million to pollster Mark Penn.
• $930,000 to media strategist Mandy Grunwald.
• $746,450 on catering, including $2,500 at a hot-dog shop.
• $200,000 to a subsidiary of the Grover Park Group, a political-consulting firm employing two Clinton advisers.
• $51,000 on professional photographers to document the fund-raiser grip-and-grins.
• $37,500 to Maggie Williams, a close friend (a payment Clinton's staffers now call an error).
• $27,000 on valet parking.
• $13,000 on flowers.

And, let's be honest, isn't it the fresh bouquets that make all the difference?

Clinton Won Easily, but Bankroll Shows the Toll [NYT]
The Woman in the Bubble [NYM]