John McCain fundraises in Sacramento, claims he'll compete in California

SACRAMENTO -- And now for a change of pace, some actual Republican news:

With many political eyes on Denver and the Democrats this week, John McCain came to Sacramento to raise money today and offered straight talk that raised a few eyebrows. First, he revealed that his wife, Cindy, is on a humanitarian trip to the nation of Georgia.

But he wanted to talk about this fall. “I also want to look you in the eye -- and I appreciate your generosity -- but I also want to tell you we will compete in the state of California," McCain said, as reported by the pool reporter Kevin Yamamura of the Sacramento Bee. "We will compete and win in the state of California. We will not take your money and leave.”

Democrats hold a registration edge in California, 43.75% to 32.53%. Barack Obama almost certainly will win California, just as Democratic presidential nominees have done every election since Bill Clinton carried the state in 1992.

"I ain't going to be the sucker in your story," a veteran Republican politico said, declining to discuss McCain's prospects but laughing at the notion McCain might win the Golden State.

Whether he competes here or not, McCain's trip was a little more successful than the last time he came through town. In November, he held a fundraiser at the same downtown hotel, and his rented SUV broke down. He had to take a cab to the airport.

In November, he took time to answer reporters' questions. This time, he had to rush off to tape "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (check back at The Ticket for details on ...

Reported $7.8-million night for Obama, but the bus goes astray

Well, welcome back from vacation, Buster. Barack Obama had a boffo bundling night tonight in San Francisco.

He reportedly raised a total of $7.8 million at three different stops in the same hotel, the Fairmont. That's what you call efficiently raking it in. Not even taxi fare between ballrooms.

That's also supposedly the most money the freshman senator has raised in a single night so far.

According to the arcane rules of political campaigns, designed to protect people who sometimes tell what Huckleberry Finn colorfully called stretchers, we're not allowed to tell you who gave us that grandiose figure. Suffice it to say, it was not the Chris Dodd or Rudy Giuliani campaigns.

The lucrative night was capped by the Obama traveling press bus smoothly pulling in and joining a motorcade away....

Obama's money machine runs rich; so do House and Senate Democrats

Barack Obama raised $51 million in July, pushing the total he has raised since his presidential quest began to more than $390 million.

His take dipped slightly from the $52 million he raised in June. But he nearly matched the roughly $53 million raised by John McCain and the Republican National Committee combined in July.

Obama's $390 million in contributions (it's actually about $400 million when miscellaneous increases are counted) is significantly more than the nominees raised four years back. President Bush had raised $240 million at this point four years ago, and Sen. John Kerry had received $210 million in donations.

With the $27 million he raised in July, McCain's total now hovers at about $153 million.

Obama is spending heavily on television ads in battleground states and on the the high-priced Olympics. As a result, the Democrat's cash in the bank slipped to $65.8 million at the end of July, from $71.6 million at the end of June.

Obama expects to out-raise McCain in part by seeking more money from his army of now 2 million donors. McCain has 600,000 donors, his campaign says.

McCain, by contrast, is taking an $84-million grant of federal tax money to run his fall campaign. He also can use about $19 million in RNC money. Additionally, the RNC and various state parties can spend unlimited sums in independent campaigns on the nominee's behalf.

Despite Obama's record fundraising pace, McCain is not with his resources, thanks to the Republican National Committee itself. In addition to the $27 million McCain raised in July, the RNC raised $26 million.

McCain and the GOP had slightly more in the bank at the end of July than Obama and the DNC and its various committees, $96 million to $94.3 million.

Then there are the parties ...

John McCain, Republican Party are reviewing curious donations

John McCain moved Thursday to return about $50,000 in donations raised by a defense contractor who has amassed $500,000 for his presidential campaign.

McCain’s campaign has been stung by news accounts raising questions about some donations. The campaign sent letters to donors whose contributions were solicited by Florida businessman Harry Sargeant III and his business partner Mustafa Abu-Naba'a, a Jordanian native.

"We’re going to take the precautionary step of returning the contributions solicited by Mr. Abu-Naba’a," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said, noting that one of the donors was quoted as saying he gave the money but would not vote for McCain. "It just didn’t sit right."

Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant said the RNC also would review Sargeant's donations.

Sargeant raised several hundred thousand dollars for McCain, the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Florida this year. He is finance chairman of the Florida state GOP, and has been a major donor to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a college friend and one of McCain's frequently mentioned vice presidential prospects.

The letter to the donors came after the Washington Post and other publications raised doubts about roughly $50,000 in contributions from about 13 California contributors, who are of Middle Eastern extraction.

The letters remind the donors of the law: only U.S. citizens can donate, and the money must be their own. The letter invites them to seek refunds if they don’t meet the criteria.

In 2004, Sargeant's firm, International Oil Trading Co. LLC., won a $1-billion contract to supply petroleum to U.S. troops in Iraq.

One of Sargeant’s partners, Mohammad Anwar Farid Al-Saleh, is related by marriage to King Abdullah II of Jordan. Al-Saleh has sued Sargeant and Abu-Naba'a, contending he helped Sargeant win the contract but was cut out of millions in the enterprise's profits.

Here is a copy of McCain's letter:

On donor disclosure, John McCain gets a B, Barack Obama gets a C

John McCain lately has gotten huzzahs for fundraising transparency. Barack Obama? Not so much.

McCain discloses his biggest fund-raisers, the high rollers who tap friends and associates to provide green for his campaign. In addition to posting hundreds of names, McCain identifies their employers and occupations -- a move that has caused him heartburn.

But in today's sharp-edged politics, transparency has its costs.

By listing bundlers’ occupations, he allows Democratic rivals to slam him for raising money from certain segments, such as say, the D.C. lobbying corp.

Obama also lists his big bundlers. But the candidate who urges transparency in all things government doesn’t disclose bundlers’ occupations or employers.

An Obama spokesman referred the curious to the Federal Election Commission website -- a site that for the uninitiated is not particularly easy to navigate.

All this is not to say that McCain is pure. Among his oversights: ...