McCain Shifts Gears to Fundraising and Foreign Travel

As John McCain revamps his Republican presidential campaign, it's already clear that some things will be a lot different in the general election contest.

McCain insiders say he will spend much of his time in the next several weeks behind closed doors raising money. He is expected to attend fundraising events every few days in order to replenish his treasury and avoid the financial problems that almost doomed his campaign last year.

McCain will turn from domestic to foreign travel as he visits Europe and the Mideast with other members of Congress this month. His goal is to burnish his credentials as the candidate with the most national-security experience. And he will move trusted supporters, including former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina and former Ronald Reagan political adviser Frank Donatelli, into the Republican National Committee to coordinate with the party establishment and its national organization.

In three or four weeks, McCain plans to embark on what his aides call a domestic "biography tour" to places that have shaped his life. The purpose is to flesh out his background for the electorate. The stops will include the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and McCain Field at the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss., named after his grandfather, who was an admiral.

—Kenneth T. Walsh