Microsoft Cashes In With Obama

President Obama may be opposed to the Keystone project, but he favors the money pipeline than runs from Redmond, Washington, to The White House.  During his past two presidential campaigns, millions of dollars have flowed from Microsoft's headquarters to Obama campaigns.

Microsoft, a corporate behemoth, shoveled $815,536 from its Political Action Committee (PAC) to the Obama re-election campaign in 2012, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan organization that posts the information online at OpenSecrets.org.

The center combed Federal Election Commission records to collect the data.  Its findings paint a graphic picture of the way Washington works, where companies that do business with the federal government are politically active in national campaigns.

Microsoft's largess extended far beyond its PAC donation. Executives and managers from Microsoft passed the hat and collected nearly $1 million in contributions for the president's campaign last year.  With 90,000 employees, there was fertile ground to be tilled by Microsoft managers.

The money was raised by so-called bundlers.  Don't be fooled by the innocuous sounding word.  Bundlers are arm-twisters who canvass friends, acquaintances and fellow employees for donations.  The solicitations usually are led by individuals who bump up against personal giving limits.

Microsoft wasn't finished after the brazen bundlers were done.  They forked over another $764,059 to help fund the festivities surrounding the president's inauguration.  For the first Obama inauguration, Microsoft doled out even more, $852,167.

Therefore, it came as no surprise when the military announced on January 3 that it had signed the most comprehensive Microsoft contract ever.  The Department of Defense (DOD), despite facing supposedly Draconian sequester cuts, agreed to pay Microsoft $617 million over three years for software services.

The department is Microsoft's single largest customer.  In the past, the DOD has tested new versions of Windows and Office for the Redmond-based company.  The cozy relationship no doubt has been tightened by Microsoft's political involvement.

And the DOD is not the only large government customer.  The Department of Agriculture two years ago issued a contract to Microsoft for its web-based email and other services, beating out IBM and Google.  At the time, the agreement was called the "largest federal contract" for cloud computing.

However, Microsoft's chummy relationship with Obama may be tested.  Federal investigators are poking their noses into claims that a Microsoft executive provided monetary kickbacks to Chinese officials in exchange for government issued contracts.

There are other allegations involving business relationships in Romania and Italy, too.  The probe is being conducted by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The allegations have sullied Microsoft's reputation.  But don't discount an investigation that results in a slap on the wrist and nothing more. After all, money covers a multitude of sins in Washington.