Straight Talk and Cold Cash
As McCain's chief fundraiser, Eudy has made a bundle. Since 2001, the Reform Institute and McCain's political committees have paid her about $1 million. She says she is paid the "industry standard," or "10 percent of moneys raised." Last month, as part of McCain's campaign restructuring, Eudy was replaced as finance director, but she continues as an adviser, a McCain aide says.
The new finance director, Mary Kate Johnson, a former Bush fundraiser, will be counting on some heavy hitters to deliver. Among the 15 national finance cochairs who have each pledged to raise $1 million: Wayne Berman, a Bush fundraiser and lobbyist whose impressive client list includes oil and telecommunications concerns; A. Jerrold Perenchio, a billionaire investor and big soft-money giver; Lewis Eisenberg, a former Goldman Sachs partner; and John Thain, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange.
McCain's spokesman, Brian Jones, says that the fundraisers aren't looking for favors. "You are talking about people who believe in his ideas, who are responding to him as a leader," Jones says. Fair enough. But in the process, McCain's image as a maverick and reformer may be suffering. "John couldn't ride the maverick horse and win the nomination," says Orson Swindle, a fellow pow and close friend. "If he is going to swim in the water, he has to raise money to swim. That's the way it is."
With Jennifer L. Jack and Monica M. Ekman
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