Sen. John McCain raised more than $15 million in March for his presidential campaign, more than any month since he started running. It’s way short of his democratic rivals.

He is returning $3 million in donations given for the General election but contributors are being asked to resend the money to his legal fund (see “McCain and the Money” April 4th post). A source says the money was raised primarily from large donors but he did receive $3.2 million from internet and small donations.

Obama raised $40 million for his primary race in March, the majority of which came from small donors. Clinton raised $20 million.

Taken together various steps and utterances from McCain insiders over the last few weeks make it clear he intends to accept taxpayer funded matching funds for the general election.

The FEC check will be about 85 million dollars.

It would perhaps seem logical on the surface to some.  With Democrats on the verge of making history with either an African American or a female nominee,  Secretary of State Condoleeza  Rice would certainly compliment the McCain candidacy.

BUT! Senior McCain insiders say she has not until this point been under any serious consideration. That is not to say that she might not be soon.

It was reported recently that Rice attended  “The Wednesday Meeting” recently.  Lots of people go, its pretty much open to all.  It’s a regular weekly meeting held at conservative activist Grover Nordquist’s L Street offices in D.C.  Nordquist is head of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) but he dabbles in all sorts of conservative politics.

Rice’s appearance at a recent meeting according to several sources was NOT about auditioning for McCain’s Veep.  BUT she sure is an intriguing prospect.  Would she make it hard for McCain to fight the democratic charges that he’s running for a  third Bush term?

Sorry Sean,

Some conservatives are working hard to kill the idea of a McCain/Mitt ticket.

A petition is circulating on line to squash the Romney for #2 notion.

The site is sponsored by “Government is not God, A Political Action Committee of Social Conservatives.”

You can find their webpage and a full page ad at Govnotgod.org

Barack Obama has raised 95 million dollars in the last 2 mos…McCain’s response? Get ready to accept public financing for the general and blast any democrat that doesn’t do the same as a hypocrit. Remember: Obama and McCain had the political equivalent of a handshake deal last year on this.

The MAC Camp has sent letters to thousands of donors and intends to RETURN about 3 million dollars in contributions made for the general election. The campaign is asking donors to SEND THE BUCKS BACK to McCain’s GLAC fund …a cool insider acronym for the legal and accounting expenses coffer which is actually tallied separately by the FEC.

The problem of course is that the general election matching fund, which is awarded to each candidate after their convention, is likely to be about 75-85 million dollars. The Dems convene in Denver 8/25-8/28. The GOP gather in St. Paul on 9/1. 85 million for each candidate to campaign the remaining two months to election day would seem plenty…but if you could bank twice that in advance would you disarm voluntarily?

Obama has a choice. McCain is preparing as though he does not.

Sorry for the brief  hiatus…Camerons Corner is back in full swing

Very quietly and very delicately the Obama and Clinton campaigns have begun back channel communications to find a common ground that can break the stalemate over Florida and Michigan.

Discussions are in very early stages with more expected over the weekend. The players at the national and state parties (as well as in the state governments) understand that any fix will have to be acceptable to both candidates.

The governors, lawmakers and political community in both states (and nationally) are working on various possible fixes, but this is an attempt BY THE CAMPAIGNS to stakeout what both would find acceptable, in order to give the states a target to work toward.

According to insiders the basic requirements of both campaigns could be met with “firehouse primaries in both states, with mail-in ballots for those who can’t make it.”

A “firehouse primary” involves fewer voting places at regional locations. Such an scenario would dramatically reduce costs.
A “Do-Over” of Florida’s primary would cost 20 million dollars, that is considered prohibitive.

Though Michigan’s nominating contests are called caucuses, as a matter of practice it is a ballot like a primary not a caucus like the meetings that take place in Iowa or Texas.

Insiders estimate that “fire house primaries in both states, with mail-in ballots for those who can’t make it” would cost about $10 million dollars for both states. Both campaigns could easily raise the money and keep it separate from regular campaign coffers.

The state political parties may also raise the money for party building. The national parties could also kick in money for party building as well. This would mean that the new votes would be paid for by the parties and the campaigns, not taxpayers.

Both campaigns agree it is unacceptable to NOT seat the Fla and Michigan delegates, recognizing that they are too influential in the general election and can’t be disenfranchised.

FOX NEWS HAS LEARNED that in New Orleans on Friday John McCain makes a major speech to the influential and little known Council for National Policy. The CNP is an umbrella organization of influential social and religious conservative groups.

The CNP members are not made public, meetings are not open to non-members, and they seldom even make public where and when their meetings occur.

McCain’s speech and subsequent Q&A will be videoed and publicized.

The group is filled with organizations and individuals who have been among McCain’s toughest conservative critics.

Until he clinches the nomination John McCain’s campaign can’t formally discuss co-opting the Republican National Committee into his general election plan

Look for that to change tonight and the party takeover to begin immediately.

If McCain goes over the top the campaign will move as soon as tomorrow to refocus the RNC on McCain’s candidacy. There is no shortage of emphasis on, or rather against, the democrats - the GOP national party has mountains of opposition research at the ready. The BIGGER task is getting the RNC synched up with McCain.

Unifying conservatives and the GOP is different from taking over the administration of the party apparatus.

The McCain camp will want his people in key positions. The McCainiacs will want to tailor and manage the party message to fit and compliment the candidate’s style and substance.

That is step one. Its starts Wednesday, assuming McCain clinches Tuesday with Oh, TX, VT and RI.

Any talk of McCain making an early VP pick is wrong. While the senator and insiders are happy to discuss prospects and ruminate aloud, all that has been done is to have one aide research the selection process other candidates have used. Nothing more.

They have not even begun seriously considering who will head the search team. They have not begun compiling the long and short lists. They have not discussed who will run the vetting process.

They have months to think it through and will unveil the selection only at the most opportune time possible.

The running mate is a major ace in the hole for presidential candidates and they never want to play them too soon.

The March 4th primaries could put McCain over the top for the GOP nomination and Huckabee officially in second place for the 2008 GOP race.

These are HISTORIC achievements that to many seemed unimaginable last year. This VLOG and the FNC political unit however never once wrote off McCain last year when others did.

And while Huckabee went virtually unnoticed until last years Ames strawpoll, we identified him in January of 2007 as the darkhorse most likely to surprise.

Now McCain has 1014 delegates. He needs 177 to reach the needed 1191.

Huckabee has won 257 delegates. He needs 24 to best Mitt Romney who won 280.

McCain is expected to take VT and RI outright but neither Texas nor Ohio are winner take all - they are awarded proportionally by state senate and congressional district respectively. If Huckabee wins any combination of 8 Texas state senate or Ohio congressional districts he will win 24 delegates and thus go ahead of Romney. Undisputed 2nd place.

Huckabee will make no definitive statements Tuesday night about the future of his campaign. But look for news on Thursday when he returns to Little Rock. For weeks the Huckabee campaign has been doing an unofficial victory lap. The governor and his staff are delighted by his success and acknowledged status as a conservative leader who will now be well positioned to run again in the future.

Camp Huck is steering people away from veep speculation. The governor doesn’t expect an offer and insiders say if it came he should reject it. They think Huckabee’s future prospects are stronger making his own way rather than playing #2 to McCain.

McCain must first co-opt the RNC, and its a long complex process to take over the sprawling Bush admin national party apparatus. They are for now merely studying how past VP’s have been chosen and discussing how to come up with their own process.

Republicans all over the country are emailing and calling the campaign with their runningmate advice. While Huckabee would have us believe he is disinterested for now, that has never been the case for Mitt Romney.

Though Romney and McCain fought tooth and nail and grew legitimately angry with one another for exaggerated charges and counter charges throughout their year long battle, alot of republican grey beards think they make a good team on paper…..

“I’m older than dirt, with more scars than Frankenstein”
John McCain (multiple locations and dates)

84 year old Former President George HW Bush endorsed 71 year old John McCain in Houston today.
In Africa 62 year old current President George W Bush volunteered to help McCain in any way he could.
If 46 year old Barack Obama wins the democratic nomination, the McCain campaign is keenly aware of the age factor.
McCain is old enough to be Obama’s father.
The image in a “change election” could be dicey for the McCainiacs.
It is one of their MAJOR concerns.
BUT McCain is a vigorous campaigner. He thrives on questions about his stamina.
McCain and his inner circle of 5 senior advisers huddled at the senators picturesque Sedona Az ranch this weekend.
AGE was on the agenda.
So was Obama’s liberalism…
The freshman senator from Illinois scored the most liberal voting record in the Senate…watch McCain chalk that up to “Youthful inexperience.”

And where “change” rhetoric is concerned, McCain can argue that he has been going after sacred cows, riling the establishment, and affecting reform since before Obama got out of school.