Americans Dash Through Rain to McCain's London Fundraiser
By Michael D. Shear
LONDON -- Sen. John McCain took a break from meetings with high-level government officials in Europe and the Middle East this afternoon for a good, old-fashioned $1,000 to $2,300 presidential fundraiser in the heart of downtown London.
McCain spent more than two hours in the stately, 18th-century stone palace that once served as a home to the Spencers, of Diana fame. Located at the end of a private cul-de-sac, the house now serves part time as an exclusive locale for such functions. (Its website calls it "an elegant backdrop for civil weddings, wedding receptions, musical evenings, lectures and press presentations.")
Guests arrived in -- what else -- drizzling, cold rain under umbrellas for the luncheon event, which featured fish on a bed of spinach, duck salad and an ice cream flambe with raspberry sauce, according to one of the guests.
"It was great food," said Cathy Manganelli, of New York, who was there with her husband, Ray Manganelli, and their 16-year-old son, Chris.
Aides refused to talk about the fundraiser, or to say how much money was raised, and McCain dashed through the rain away from reporters after emerging. One guest said there were about 100 people at the luncheon. If they all gave the maximum, the event would have raised about $230,000 for the campaign.
Manganelli said McCain opened the fundraiser by talking about the souring U.S. economy, but the discussion soon shifted to foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, where McCain spent much of the last week. He discussed Iraq, Iran, North Korea and global warming, according to Ray Manganelli.
The Arizona senator has said repeatedly that his trip abroad this week is not a campaign event. Rather, he insists, it is a fact-finding mission typical of those he has long conducted as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. The trip is being paid for by the U.S. government.
Aides said they and the senator met with ethics committee officials before the trip and were assured that McCain could hold a presidential fundraiser as long as Senate staffers did not attend and no government resources were used to conduct it.
Senate spokeswoman Melissa Shuffield, who sat at a nearby hotel while the fundraiser took place, said McCain was paying for his hotel room in London and the cost of the flight to London in order to comply with the ethics rules.
As noted earlier by Post reporter Matthew Mosk, an invitation sent out by the campaign says the fundraiser was organized "by kind permission of Lord Rothschild OM GBE and the Hon. Nathaniel Rothschild." Attire was listed as "lounge suits."
Ray Manganelli, who works in private equity, said he contacted the McCain campaign when he realized his family would be vacationing in London today.
"The reason I brought my son today was because this is a person who I really believe you can look up to," Manganelli said. "t comes down to the character issue. When you look at your son in the eye at night and you talk about that, I think, ultimately, our politicians should be role models in the way that they conduct their own lives."
Democrats in London hastily organized a "counter-rally" at London's Westminster Arms, saying that McCain "does not represent the views of the majority of Americans." But Manganelli said he thinks McCain will win by appealing to Republicans like himself and to others who are drawn to his war record and integrity.
"It doesn't matter which side of the aisle," Manganelli said. "What unites us is integrity and courage."
Posted at 2:28 PM ET on Mar 20, 2008
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Posted by: jreno14 | March 21, 2008 11:49 PM
LOL! "How to make a Libbie Scream" by John "Travel the world" McCain!
Hey Libbies, all the details about funding were thoroughly EXPLAINED!
Does Soros do the same?
Posted by: rat-the | March 20, 2008 6:48 PM
P.S. to danigo:
The expenses attributed to any political event will be reimbursed by the campaign to the Treasury, just like when Bush uses AF1 for political events too.
Posted by: JakeD | March 20, 2008 5:43 PM
It is now a "smear" campaign to use actual videotape of someone's own words?
Posted by: JakeD | March 20, 2008 5:41 PM
Congratulations to McCain for finding 100 rich die-hards, probably investment bankers and lobbyists, to support his very limp campaign. Good luck. As another commentor pointed out, this campaigning is on the tab of the US taxpayer. Anyone in congress watching?
Posted by: danigo | March 20, 2008 4:42 PM
So the candidate railing against "pork" and "earmarks" doesn't mind taking a taxpayer-financed campaign junket to get photo-ops next to his 2 best supporters and various foreign leaders? I guess he doesn't mind public financing as long as it's for candidates, not constituents.
Posted by: Omyobama | March 20, 2008 3:48 PM
McCain could better worry about his support in America, as there appears to be a few holes;
Obama vs Clinton vs McCain -
The Google Effect:
http://newsusa.myfeedportal.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=76
Posted by: davidmwe | March 20, 2008 3:30 PM
BREAKING NEWS...
CNN REPORTS THAT A MCCAIN AIDE OR STAFFER HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR CIRCULATING THE REV. WRIGHT VIDEO TO THE NEWS MEDIA! TALK ABOUT A SMEAR CAMPAIGN!
i hear on msnbc news today, that rev. wright is about to be honored for his legacy of achievements at the school of religion at Texas Christian University....
what does this tell me?...
that the media didn't do justice with this man with their reporting, by only showing 30 second soundbytes out of over 207,000 minutes of sermons and by not looking at his complete history of faith and healing within his church and community ...
i truly respect the washington post for it's in-depth article on rev. wright just yesterday...
3 cheers for the wash. post...
maybe some of the tv critics like hannity, o'reilly, dobbs, blitzer, anderson cooper, campbell brown, pat buchannon, and geraldo rivera ought to do some real investigative reporting on rev. wright's 36 year leagcy as a whole like the wash. post did, as opposed to the continous onslaught of 30 second soundbyte mistakes...or how about just read the article themselves and give this perspective?....but nooooooooo......these reporters/anchors are so blind-sided with the same hatred and rage that they accuse rev.wright with......
obviously the school of religion associated with TCU thinks very highly of this man's overall achievements! because they are ready to officially honor him for his victories on social injustice, faith and healing, despite what the critics are saying ....
SHAME ON THE MEDIA FOR CRUCIFYING THIS MAN without telling the whole story!
SHAME ON MCCAIN AND HIS CAMP FOR THIS SMEAR CAMPAIGN!
SHAME ON HILLARY FOR HER SMEAR AS WELL!
if you are going to be a reporter/news anchor or whatever you call yourself, then do your job!...get the complete story...otherwise you are spreading rumors & rhetoric to influence others with your vicious, racist thoughts!,
Posted by: docdwb | March 20, 2008 3:22 PM
BREAKING NEWS...
CNN REPORTS THAT A MCCAIN AIDE OR STAFFER HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR CIRCULATING THE REV. WRIGHT VIDEO TO THE NEWS MEDIA! TALK ABOUT A SMEAR CAMPAIGN!
i hear on msnbc news today, that rev. wright is about to be honored for his legacy of achievements at the school of religion at Texas Christian University....
what does this tell me?...
that the media didn't do justice with this man with their reporting, by only showing 30 second soundbytes out of over 207,000 minutes of sermons and by not looking at his complete history of faith and healing within his church and community ...
i truly respect the washington post for it's in-depth article on rev. wright just yesterday...
3 cheers for the wash. post...
maybe some of the tv critics like hannity, o'reilly, dobbs, blitzer, anderson cooper, campbell brown, pat buchannon, and geraldo rivera ought to do some real investigative reporting on rev. wright's 36 year leagcy as a whole like the wash. post did, as opposed to the continous onslaught of 30 second soundbyte mistakes...or how about just read the article themselves and give this perspective?....but nooooooooo......these reporters/anchors are so blind-sided with the same hatred and rage that they accuse rev.wright with......
obviously the school of religion associated with TCU thinks very highly of this man's overall achievements! because they are ready to officially honor him for his victories on social injustice, faith and healing, despite what the critics are saying ....
SHAME ON THE MEDIA FOR CRUCIFYING THIS MAN without telling the whole story!
SHAME ON MCCAIN AND HIS CAMP FOR THIS SMEAR CAMPAIGN!
SHAME ON HILLARY FOR HER SMEAR AS WELL!
if you are going to be a reporter/news anchor or whatever you call yourself, then do your job!...get the complete story...otherwise you are spreading rumors & rhetoric to influence others with your vicious, racist thoughts!,
Posted by: docdwb | March 20, 2008 3:19 PM
The old, old warrior has agreed to throw his ancient body on the grenade of the George W. Bush legacy. He will take the hit in November 2008 when it explodes with the overwhelming tsunami of Democratic victories from coast to coast. Poor old guy. He's a hero but .... got into the wrong battle defending the wrong policies with the economy going south in a hurry.
Too late to change -- old dogs and all.
Posted by: gandalfthegrey | March 20, 2008 3:06 PM
"The Arizona senator has said repeatedly that his trip abroad this week is not a campaign event."
Yup, he was fact-finding alright. That's straight talk for you!. How does he get away with a publicly financed trip to pick up a couple of hundred grand in a foreign country?
Posted by: thebobbob | March 20, 2008 2:36 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Obama's efforts to connect to the Republican Party, specifically Bush, and Dick Chaney, of the Halliburton Company, dates back to the Presidents Grandfather, Prescott Bush, and indeed Chaney was once an executive officer of Halliburton.
The American military pounds Iraq with Artillary, bombs, and the like, destroying large sections of cities, and infra-structures, then Halliburton comes in to rebuild. Halliburton and Halliburton associated companies have raked in ten's of billions.
Obama is just like the BIG HALIBURTAN. Haliburton has contracted to build detention centers in the U.S. similiar to the one in Quantanammo Bay, Cuba. Halliburton does nothing to earn the Two Dollars for each meal an American Serviceman in Iraq eats.
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/
Halliburton was scheduled to take control of the Dubai Ports in The United Arab Emiirate. The deal was canceled when Bush was unable to affect the transfer of the American Ports.
Now we see what some might suspect as similiar financial escapading from the Democrats.
Two years ago, Iraq's Ministry of Electricity gave a $50 million contract to a start-up security company - Companion- owned by now-indicted businessman (TONY REZKO) Tony Rezko and a onetime Chicago cop, Daniel T. Frawley, to train Iraqi power-plant guards in the United States. An Iraqi leadership change left the deal in limbo. Now the company, Companion Security, is working to revive its contract.
Involved along with Antoin "Tony" Rezco, long time friend and neighbor of Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and former cop Daniel T. Frawley, is Aiham Alsammarae. Alsammarae was accused of financial corruption by Iraqi authorities and jailed in Iraq last year before escaping and returning here.
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON --
Recently, Obama's campaign staff have been vetted by the IRS to disclose his connection to the criminal money generating underworld. Besides, his connections to the REZCO MAFIA types, his up-coming tax fraud charges -- Obama needs to disclose why he is a MUSLIM "PATWANG-FWEEE" and disclose Obama's MUSLIM Farrakhan mob connection to Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Its minister, and Obama's spiritual adviser, is the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. In 1982, the church launched Trumpet Newsmagazine; Wright's daughters serve as publisher and executive editor. Every year, the magazine makes awards in various categories. Last year, it gave the Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter Award to a man it said "truly epitomized greatness." That man is Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan and Chicago's Trinity United Church are trumpeting Barack Obama AKA Barack Hussein Obama as the second coming of the messiah. Obama should stop suppoting our intervention in IRAQ. It's time to introduce this false, fake Xerox - X box Obama and invite the self-indicting thief plagiarizing pipsqueke "GLORK" Xerox - X box to meet the Buffalo "GAZOWNT-GAZIKKA" Police Department Buffalo Creek. He is MAD!!! --
OBAM YOU'RE NO JFK --
"GLORK" Obama looks like Alfred E. Newman: "Tales Calculated To Drive You." He is a MUSLIM "Glork" He's MAD!!! Alfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot of Mad. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman after he spotted it on the bulletin board in the office of Ballantine Books editor Bernard Shir-Cliff, later a contributor to various magazines created by Kurtzman.
Obama needs to disclose why he is a MUSLIM "PATWANG-FWEEE" and stop suppoting our intervention in IRAQ. It's time to introduce this false, fake "GLORK" Xerox - X box Obama and invite the self-indicting thief plagiarizing pipsqueke Xerox - X box to meet the Buffalo "GAZOWNT-GAZIKKA" Police Department Buffalo Creek.
Michelle Obama should be ashamed.
"GLORK" Michelle Obama should be ashamed of her separatist-racist connection to Farrakhan and Chicago's Trinity United Church trumpeting Barack Obama AKA Barack Hussein Obama as the second coming of the messiah. If Michelle Obama new what her husband -- the Hope-A-Dope, Fonster Monster -- Barack Obama AKA Barack Hussein Obama did in Harlem, she would wash her wide-open, Hus-suey loving MUSILM mouth out, with twenty-four (24) mule-team double-cross X-boX-BorraX. He is a MUSLIM "Glork" It's time to introduce this false, fake "GLORK" Xerox - X box Obama and invite the self-indicting thief plagiarizing pipsqueke Xerox - X box to meet the Buffalo "GAZOWNT-GAZIKKA" Police Department Buffalo Creek. He's MAD!!!
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/
THE SPEECH --
The Apologia has arrived and once again the self-indicting, separatist-racist Barack Obama AKA Barack Hussein Obama, promises to heal the wounds of the world. The speech is the rude awakening of mass messianism of his campaign. Apologetically, Obama the MUSLIM double-cross X-boX-BorraX has an astonishingly empty two-prawn echelon explanation of his misjudgment.
In the first prawn: with regard to his connection to separatist-racist Rev. Wright; Obama summons voodoo and juju to express slavery as beginning and ending with the Rev. Wright.
In the second prawn: Obama's speech takes credit for Ashley's dream. A dream of unity Martin Luther King, Jr. borrowed from Ashley for his historic "I Have A Dream" speech. In Obama's speech, the connective bond Ashley, the elderly black man and Obama's grandmother share; represents Obama's self-indicting rise to the Harvard Yard. For Obama, the grand flag of language is the semi-fore of words, bestowed upon our nation by the messiah-alumni from Harvard. Obama's Swoon-Song Apologia to the nation represents a failed hymn -- a hymn that fails to heal the nation, repair the world, or make this time different than all the rest. Obama's speech is a brilliant failure.
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/