Longtime FR friend Robert Molnar was on-hand at Senator McCain’s big fundraising event in San Francisco last night. Robert is the trusty right-hand man to Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. We asked Robert to pen something to fill in FR readers on the event…
The San Francisco Ritz Carlton was the scene of Senator John McCain’s most recent California campaign stop last night. Of course it wouldn’t be San Francisco without anti-war protesters, and last night was no exception. A handful of individuals practiced their freedom of speech rights from the sidewalk, flanked by a dozen of San Francisco’s finest. A big thank you to the SFPD for easily managing the group and not allowing them to interrupt the arrival of guests. Interestingly, across the street on a building was a large sign saying "We Love John McCain", which put smiles on faces of arriving guests, and scowls on the faces of the protestors.
By 6:00 p.m. it was clear that this was going to be a large event, with hundreds of guests flowing into the reception area. It was a whose-who of California Republican leaders mingling together and catching up. The Irvine Company’s Donald Bren talking with the great George Schultz, former President Reagan’s Secretary of State. State GOP Chairman Ron Nehring, former Secretary of State and now State Chairman of the McCain Campaign Bill Jones, State Senator Abel Maldonado and Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian sipping drinks and shaking hands with guests.
By 6:30 p.m. there was close to 300 guests, by my estimation.
Senator McCain arrived around 6:45 p.m. and began the photo line, which numbered 50 or so guests. Clearly this event was a very successful financial endeavor for McCain and shows that he will not suffer from lack of funding from California for his campaign.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, Senator McCain’s California Co-Chair, was tapped as the evenings Master of Ceremonies, and flawlessly started the evening off by herding the large crowd into focus, and giving a rousing speech about his personal experiences with Senator John McCain while Poizner was serving in the National Security Council during the 9/11 crisis. Poizner’s message about the need for the strength, leadership, and experience of John McCain as Commander and Chief brought a loud applause from the crowd. All in all, Poizner did a great job of setting the stage for Senator McCain’s talk.
Poizner welcomes E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman to the podium who introduced the Senator. Whitman spoke about how the candidacy of Mitt Romney inspired her to become involved politically, and that she pleased at the request of Senator McCain to play a role in helping him win the White House this November. She was very gracious in her remarks about John McCain’s character and authenticity, and said she was proud to be a part of his team.
Senator McCain took the stage and looked energetic and pumped up. For a guy who has had a very busy week traveling across California, it was very impressive to see him prowling the stage and giving a 20 minute speech full of stories and policy discussion ranging from the economy to national security to Iraq. I have to say, John McCain is a very funny guy. Like Reagan, McCain has a way about him that makes you feel comfortable and attached to him personally. He has a great knack for pulling you into his world and making you feel like one of his buddies. The crowd ate up his speech. About midway through his speech, however, a protester who apparently snuck in to the event started shouting "no more war", "we dont want your war McCain", "bring the troops home". As security hustled her out of the room, Senator John McCain smiled and said "this is a great country isnt it?" He then had one of the greatest impromptu lines I have ever heard, "Gee, i bet you her check will bounce". Awesome. The crowd went wild.
Senator McCain talked a lot about his campaign, and that despite what some people may say, he will indeed compete here in California. He noted that as the nation’s largest state, it would be foolish to not be competitive here.
He stated that he will not just come here for money, that when the time comes he will be here doing Town Halls and giving "straight talk" to all Californians. He noted his stop in Los Angeles, and seeing the Ports of L.A. crank out billions in goods. He noted Silicon Valley being the world leader in technology innovation. He noted the Central Valley’s immense agricultural output. He noted that we in California are stealing all of Arizona’s water! (Another good laugh.)
The Senator completed his remarks talking abou the importance of completing the job in Iraq, and not ignoring the fact that this country still faces threats from abroad. He made his way into the crowd, and shook hands and took pictures for 20 minutes before departing.
From a fundraising perspective, it was a very good event for the Senator, and shows that he is indeed a draw and will be fully funded when the time comes. This being the first time I have seen and heard him in person, I can say that I was very impressed with his energy, his persona, and his ability to communicate in a frank, yet conversational way. He connects with people in a seemless fashion, but does it without the rhetoric or fluff that we often see from other Presidential candidates. It is indeed straight talk.
We must all work hard to support the Senator, and make him President John McCain.
