(From the nytimes.com) At first blush, the 19 pages of financial disclosures that Meg Whitman filed earlier this year for her run for governor of California are a humdrum blur of ordinary, if sizable, investments — until one for more than $1 million in an “entertainment/production” company called “Tools Down! Productions.”

Mike Murphy got $1 million for his production company from Meg Whitman and later signed on for her campaign.

Ms. Whitman, a billionaire and former chief executive of eBay, made the investment in late 2008, according to her campaign, taking a stake in a fledgling movie production firm started by none other than Mike Murphy, a very prominent and much-sought-after Republican strategist.

In the months before the deal was closed, Mr. Murphy had been flirting with working on the campaign of Ms. Whitman’s future rival in the Republican primary for governor, Steve Poizner, the state’s insurance commissioner. But he had an about-face.

The timing of the investment and its unusual nature — Ms. Whitman lists no other holdings in the world of independent movie production — raise some questions about its ultimate purpose: Was it strictly a business decision, or part of an effort to ensure that a coveted political strategist did not work for the competition? Or perhaps a way to sweeten the pot so he would eventually sign on with the right team?

Read more here: Divining the Return on a Candidate’s Investment