HILADELPHIA - Robin Cook wended his way through the floor of the Republican National Convention with all the appropriate credentials hanging around his neck. The only one he truly needed was pinned to the lapel of his crisp blue blazer.
Against a black field was a gold elephant and the words: ''Republican Regents.''
This year, that tag confers singular status as the most elite of party donors, the 139 people and corporations who have contributed $250,000 or more to Republican causes since January 1999. It carries with it an all-access pass to the best hotels, meals and parties around Philadelphia, a city bustling with lavish spreads and with entertainment ranging from The Temptations to Hank Williams Jr.
The critics bray, but Cook, a Boston novelist who specializes in medical thrillers, defends his sort of big-ticket giving. He says he's not buying access, but supporting good leadership in the form of the Republican presidential candidate, George W. Bush.
''I'm quite impressed with the whole Bush clan, and I'd like to see that kind of integrity in the White House, so I don't have to be embarrassed when I go over and meet with my friends in Europe,'' he said shortly after the convention was gaveled to order.
Larry Makinson, head of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington campaign finance watchdog, says the money, both in Philadelphia and at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in two weeks perverts the political process.
''If you can put together a $400,000 bash with shrimp and caviar, you have an advantage over everyone not doing it,'' Makinson said. ''When those groups come back to Washington to really undertake the business of government, they know they are not just walking into the door as any other person.''
Both the Republicans and the Democrats expect to spend over $100 million presenting their presidential and vice presidential nominees. With the US Treasury and local governments providing only about $28 million to each party, a hefty share of the rest will come from corporate sponsorships and private donors.
Individual donations to presidential candidates are capped at $1,000 for the primaries and $1,000 for the general election, but ''soft-money'' donations to political parties remain unregulated despite attempts by advocates of campaign finance overhaul such as Senators John McCain of Arizona and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, and Representatives Martin T. Meehan of Massachusetts and Christopher Shays of Connecticut.
Corporations were briefly banned from helping to defray convention expenses, but in 1984, federal regulators changed the rules so companies could make unlimited donations to host committees, the civic groups that arrange much of the convention-week activities. The donations were also made tax deductible, to be treated as marketing expenses.
Adding to the money flow is the presence of top lawmakers, leading government officials and corporate interests at conventions. Their attendance provides the opportunity both to thank past donors and to cultivate new ones, as has happened in Philadelphia this week.
The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $1.75 million and rewarded its donors with 345 hotel rooms in prime locations. The contributors also received passes for a hospitality suite, a golf tournament and a concert by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Union Pacific Railroad laid a half-mile of railroad track outside the First Union Center and placed 30 vintage railroad cars right next to the convention hall for parties. It lent a Pullman car to the House minority whip, Tom DeLay of Texas, who is using it as a hospitality suite for his ''Gold Plus'' contributors, those who have donated $50,000 to his political action committee. Besides the donors, the only ones allowed admittance are members of Congress.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert was both the host and honoree Tuesday at a luncheon in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. He invited 1,000 people who have supported his political action committee, ''Keep Our Majority.''
The event was sponsored by Akin, Gump, a top Washington law and lobbying firm, as well as the National Beer Wholesalers and Retailers and the United Distillers and Vintners. The guest of honor was Dick Cheney, the GOP vice presidential choice, and the MC was former Representative William Paxon of New York, now a member of Akin, Gump.
Yesterday, there was also a fund-raising luncheon featuring the party's presidential choice, Texas Governor George W. Bush, that was expected to raise up to $10 million. And earlier this week, there were dueling corporate-sponsored parties for Represenatives W.J. ''Billy'' Tauzin of Lousiana and Michael G. Oxley of Ohio, who are battling to become the next chairman of the House Commerce Committee.
''Conventions are about politics, getting the message out, but they're also a celebration of a lot of hard work and grass-roots and party leaders who get together every four years to tell war stories - and spend the week going to good parties,'' said Ronald Kaufman, a Bush confidant and Massachusetts national committeeman.
He said he had received ''hundreds'' of invitations.
Similar attention is paid to Cook and his fellow Regents. They sit atop a caste system that includes Team 100, the $100,000 donors, the Presidential Trust, whose members have donated $20,000, and the Eagles, people who have given $15,000.
Team 100 members had more than two dozen perks and events to choose from this week, according to The Associated Press, which has reported on letters mailed to the donors.
They had dinner their first night with Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other congressional leaders at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the AP reported.
The next day, it was breakfast at City Hall with strategists from the Bush campaign, followed by a fashion show at the Academy of Music and a cocktail reception with GOP members of Congress.
Yesterday, they enjoyed a round of country-club golf with senators, congressmen, governors and former Cabinet members. Today, there's brunch with Bush's father, former President Bush. President Ford had been scheduled to attend before he was hospitalized yesterday after suffering one, or perhaps two, mild strokes.
Even though their $15,000 donations place them at the bottom of the pecking order, the Eagles are treated like royalty as well.
On Monday they had lunch at Ardosson, Robert Montgomery Scott's famed Villanova home, enjoyed reserved motor coaches to and from the convention hall and had a special late-night concert featuring Lynard Skynard. All week the Eagles are free to drop by a hospitality suite at their hotel, the Park Hyatt in Center City.
Kaufman, the Massachusetts committeeman, dismisses the idea that the cash flow erodes democracy.
''The party can foot the bill for the convention itself, but every four years, every major business or political leader comes together in one of two places,'' he said. ''If you're Chrysler trying to sell automobiles or voter.com trying to reach a political audience, what place is there better to go?''
