WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., took a break from thepresidential campaign trail in March to fly to a posh Utah skiresort, where he mingled with hundreds of top corporate executivesassembled by J.P. Morgan Chase for its annual leadership conference.
McCain's appearance at the Deer Valley event, arranged by J.P.Morgan Vice Chairman James B. Lee Jr., a top McCain fundraiser, puthim in a room with the chief executives of companies such as GeneralElectric, Xerox and Sony. It was, Lee said, "a chance for him to letthem see him for who he is and possibly decide to support him." Theeffort paid off: J.P. Morgan executives have donated $56,250 toMcCain's campaign, two-thirds of which came after his Utahappearance. And his visit there was quickly followed up by dozens ofsmaller private meetings with corporate executives in New York Cityarranged by leading Wall Street figures.
"We tried to get him around to a lot of those kinds of things,"said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis. "We were very much in thefriend-making business."
It is common for politicians to court big money during acampaign. But private schmooze sessions such as the gathering inUtah pose a particular dilemma for McCain, who has spent a longcareer decrying "special interests" and politicians who offerspecial access to them in order to raise money. As a presidentialcandidate this year, McCain has found himself assiduously courtingboth lobbyists and their wealthy clients, offering them privateaudiences as part of his fundraising. He also counts more than 30lobbyists among his chief fundraisers, more than any otherpresidential contender.
McCain aides bridle at the notion that the senator, who hasconsistently fought in the Senate against so-called pork-barrelspending from such interests and championed laws to restrict theirlobbying and political donations, might favor his big contributors."There's never been anybody who's done more to rein in specialinterests and lobbyists than John McCain," Davis said. "If you giveto him, you know there's no quid pro quo. People give to him becausethey want him to be president of the United States. They can't bemotivated by any other reason."
McCain began his anti-special-interest drive two decades agoafter he and four other senators were accused of trying to influencebank regulators on behalf of donor Charles Keating, a savings-and-loan financier later convicted of securities fraud. The SenateEthics Committee said McCain had used "poor judgment" but also saidhis actions "were not improper" and did not merit punishment.
Ever since, McCain has made high ethical standards a hallmark ofhis public persona. In his 2002 memoir he wrote that "money does buyaccess in Washington, and access increases influence that oftenresults in benefiting the few at the expense of the many." Just thismonth in Detroit he told reporters that he had "never done anyfavors for anybody - lobbyist or special interest group - that's aclear, 24-year record."
Nonetheless, a recent study by the nonpartisan Campaign FinanceInstitute and the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen found thatMcCain has more lobbyists raising funds for his presidential bidthan do any of his rivals. He has 32 "bundlers" of donations who arelobbyists. Former New York Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani is theclosest to him with 29 lobbyist bundlers, followed by Sen. HillaryRodham Clinton, D-N.Y., with 18.
McCain's campaign has also been guided by lobbyists. Davis, thecampaign manager, is a former lobbyist who represented majortelecommunications companies. The campaign's senior adviser isCharles Black Jr., chairman of BKSH & Associates, which representsdrug companies, an oil company, an automaker, a telecommunicationscompany, defense contractors and the steel industry, among others.
Former congressman Tom Loeffler, R-Texas, was brought in to shoreup the campaign's finances and operations yet still maintains hisday job as chairman of the Loeffler Group, whose clients includeoil, auto and telecommunications companies as well as a tobacco firmand an airline client.
Other occasional McCain advisers include the lobbyists TimothyMcKone of AT&T, Robert Aiken of Phoenix-based Pinnacle West Capital,John Timmons of the Cormac Group and John Green of Ogilvy GovernmentRelations. Also at Ogilvy is a major McCain fundraiser, WayneBerman.
Their firms' clients have been a significant source of campaigncontributions to McCain. Executives for the clients of OgilvyGovernment Relations gave at least $271,000 for McCain'spresidential bid. Loeffler Group client employees donated $118,500,according to a Washington Post analysis. BKSH clients' executivesgave $24,000.
McCain has personally worked many corporate leaders this year aspart of his money chase. At the Utah event, he put on a show forabout 90 minutes, holding a "fireside chat" with public televisiontalk show host Charlie Rose and answering pointed questions abouthis policies from the high-powered audience.
Similar though smaller events in New York City were organized byother well-known Wall Streeters including Henry Kravis, John Thainand Lew Eisenberg, all top McCain fundraisers in the presidentialrace.
McCain began the 2008 race as a Republican front-runner andquickly raised more than $30 million, boosted by large sums of GOPestablishment money from such sources.
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