Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is due in Aspen today to speak about the economy, then bring his campaign’s best fundraisers and top brass together behind closed doors with some of the men thought to be on his vice presidential short list.
And to hike, maybe.
Gov. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., and Gov. Jon Huntsman, R-Utah, will join McCain here, along with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., according to sources close to the campaign.
The three men’s names have been raised consistently in this summer’s veepstakes political parlor games. (Others who are on the rumor list, but not in Aspen, are former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.)
Former GOP vice-presidential nominee Jack Kemp, who ran alongside Sen. Bob Dole in 1996 and lives part time in Vail, is also due to join McCain today.
McCain is scheduled for a luncheon fundraiser at a Vail area private home at 11:30 a.m. today. Then he travels to Aspen for a 3 p.m. public interview about the world economy with Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Institute.
Following the Institute event — his fourth there in as many years — McCain is due at a $1,000-per-head fundraiser at the Hotel Jerome. The Jerome event is geared toward local Republicans — yes, Aspen Republicans. Pitkin County Republican Chairwoman Linda McCausland called response to the event “overwhelming.”
“There is more enthusiasm for this election than I’ve seen here,” McCausland said, “which happens when you have two candidates that catch people’s attention.”
This evening, the Arizona senator kicks off an overnight thank-you retreat with fundraisers from across the country who have bagged more than $100,000 for his campaign.
Tonight, he is scheduled to dine at the Pine Creek Cookhouse with 160 fundraisers and spouses. Known colloquially as “bundlers,” these supporters have solicited donations for McCain’s campaign directly (up to $2,300 apiece) and to the Republican Party and friendly political action committees (up to $28,500 apiece).
Tomorrow at 8 a.m., the crew of campaign finance mavens is scheduled to hike at the Maroon Bells with nature experts — an event a state campaign spokesman could not confirm McCain will attend.
Following that, McCain’s closest advisers are to hold a closed-door campaign briefing with the fundraising experts. That session will include the McCain campaign’s two top campaign executives — Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt — along with senior adviser Charlie Black and McCain’s long-time alter ego, Mark Salter, who has co-written four books with the Arizona senator.
Officials from the Aspen Police Department and Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office met with the Secret Service this week, and will assist McCain’s security team while he is here.
The candidate is expected to leave Aspen before mid-day Friday.
This visit is McCain’s second trip to Aspen in less than a month. On July 25 he was in town for an afternoon to meet the Dalai Lama at a private home. The man who oversees the campaign’s fundraising efforts, Deputy National Finance Chairman Fred Malek, has a home in Aspen and organized the fundraisers’ retreat.
McCain’s Democratic presidential rival, Barack Obama, last visited Aspen in the summer of 2005, when he spoke at the Aspen Institute. Whether he visits before election day, Obama is expected to win Pitkin County, which voted nearly 70 percent for John Kerry in 2004.
Today also marks the 73rd anniversary of the Social Security Act, an occasion state Democrats are using to voice their opposition to McCain on Social Security policy. This afternoon, Colorado Democratic Party spokesman Matt Farrauto and other activists are throwing a “birthday party” in Aspen for the Act, which they claim McCain wants to privatize, at Explore Booksellers and Bistro.
andrew@aspendailynews.com
