Lawmaker: $10,000/Month Contract Had Nothing To Do With Endorsement of Hillary. Really.

You read stories like this, and figure Bill Clinton would have figured out how to do this in a subtler, less obvious manner:

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) — A key black Democratic leader in South Carolina has negotiated a $10,000 per month consulting contract with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign, a development that came to light when the lawmaker endorsed the presidential hopeful.
The contract with state Sen. Darrell Jackson’s firm, Sunrise Enterprises, is not yet signed but will run through the first Southern primary here next January, Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee confirmed Thursday.
Elleithee denied there was any deal made for Jackson’s endorsement.
“Not at all. … We told him, ‘We’d love your support as a community leader and love your help as a respected political consultant inside the state,”’ Elleithee said.
Jackson did not return messages on Thursday. He has told several media outlets that he turned down more money from other candidates.

You know, what gets me about this is the inherent belief that we, the public, are really, really stupid. “Okay, he says there’s no quid pro quo. I guess that it’s just a coincidence that he endorsed someone who’s paying him a monthly retainer that could add up to about $200,000.”