He's got no traction, and little support among the GOP base -- so John McCain is seeking to rake in the very big bucks donations he says corrupt the system.

Lagging in fund-raising and under fire for his support of the Iraq war, Senator John McCain is overhauling his campaign finance operation and delaying the official announcement of his candidacy, his aides said Tuesday.

They said he would adopt the kind of big-donor fund-raising program pioneered by President Bush and give a speech explaining his support for the administrationÂ’s troop buildup in Iraq.

The maneuvers come at a time of sharp anxiety in Mr. McCainÂ’s camp, especially over his fund-raising, which is trailing all the major Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

The concern grew after his visit to Iraq over the weekend, when he asserted that conditions there were improving.

Mr. McCainÂ’s aides said that to deal with his fund-raising problems, he would adopt what had been a centerpiece of Mr. BushÂ’s fund-raising technique, and one that has been embraced by most major presidential candidates: creating an honorary campaign designation to reward the campaignÂ’s top money raisers. Mr. Bush called his Rangers and Pioneers; Mr. McCain will call his the McCain 100Â’s, for supporters who collect $100,000 for the campaign, and the McCain 200Â’s, who collect $200,000.

Mr. McCain has been identified throughout his career as an advocate of curbing the influence of money in politics, notably as a co-sponsor of a landmark bill limiting political contributions. He criticized Mr. Bush, when the two were opponents in 2000, as leading overly aggressive fund-raising efforts.

I think the word for this is HYPOCRISY!

But then again, McCain is desperate to become president, and if that means selling out his own principles, he'll do it.

Not that he will ever get his vote.

Indeed, the only way John McCain will ever be president is if he runs as an independent with Joe Lieberman as his VP candidate -- and even then he would be a long-shot.

Posted by: Greg at 10:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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