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McCain cashing in on nomination
10/03/2008 13:42 - (SA)
Phoenix - This is the week John McCain takes a measure of what the Republican nomination is worth.
The Arizona senator, less than a week removed from having secured enough delegates to become his party's presidential standard-bearer, sets out on a nationwide fundraising drive aimed at restocking his campaign kitty.
Starting on Monday in St Louis, and continuing on Tuesday in New York, Wednesday in Boston and other unannounced cities through to Friday, McCain will reach out to the Republican party faithful.
His aim is the funding necessary to help him match up against the record-shattering totals posted by Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
They continue to battle for their party's nomination, fuelled by unprecedented monthly and even daily fundraising sums.
'A lot of work to do'
"We can see the great job that our opponents have done in fundraising. We've got a lot of work to do," McCain said.
An invitation to McCain's event on Wednesday night at the Taj Boston hotel is fairly typical: $2 300 donations - the maximum allowable each primary and general election campaign - are required for a private reception with McCain. A half-hour later, the tab drops to $1 000 per person for a more widely accessible general reception.
Among those slated to attend are the head of a major biotechnology company, Boston Scientific co-founder Peter Nicholas, as well as former acting Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift, a longtime McCain backer, and former Governor Paul Cellucci, who previously supported former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
There was conflicting word about whether former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who joined Giuliani in battling McCain for the Republican nomination, would attend the event.
The challenge confronting McCain is stark. During the current election cycle, Obama and Clinton have not only outraised him, but far exceed him in cash on hand.
Obama, a senator from Illinois, has raised $141m, with $25m cash on hand as of January 31. Clinton, a senator from New York and former first lady, has raised $138m and had $29m cash on hand.
By contrast, McCain has raised $55m and had $5.2m cash on hand at the end of January.
McCain and Obama have bickered over their prior commitment over a general election spending cap should they emerge as their respective party's nominee, but that debate was rendered moot last week by Clinton's re-emergence as a challenger to Obama following big-ticket wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries.
Obama and Clinton are expected to battle through April and possibly to their party's August convention, yet McCain must raise enough money to support his organisation and remain in the public spotlight without benefit of a nomination contest.
One booster will be President Bush, who endorsed his fellow Republican last week and pledged to help McCain however he can, especially on the fundraising front.
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