Wall Street Donors Resent Being Blamed by McCain-Struggle to fill ballroom

[RamboLiberal]

Sen. John McCain badly needs the cash infusion and momentum from a Tuesday night fund-raiser in New York. But the senator's recent demonizing of Wall Street made it tough to lure contributors, with Wall Street and corporate executives balancing their aggravation with the Republican presidential hopeful against their rising unease about his Democratic opponent.

The McCain campaign hopes to raise $7 million at the event at a midtown Manhattan hotel. For $25,000, guests get a sit-down dinner and a photo with the Arizona lawmaker and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Guests who pay $1,000 can attend a reception.

And though a flurry of pledges in recent days reached the event's fund-raising goal, organizers in recent weeks had struggled to fill the ballroom.

The Republican presidential candidate's "populist stuff sounds good on the campaign trail, but it's caused a lot of trepidation," says John Faso, onetime Republican candidate for New York governor and one of the event organizers. Sen. McCain's relationship with corporate America "has hit a bump in the road," says Mr. Faso, who is an attorney.

Even big business names are advising Sen. McCain to quit looking to assign blame for the economic crisis and instead offer more-detailed solutions. "I told the campaign that McCain must do a better job talking about ways to make corporations -- their executives and directors -- more accountable," activist investor Carl Icahn, a McCain supporter who doesn't plan to attend Tuesday's fund-raiser, said in an interview. "Frankly, Obama is doing a better job, and it's resonating for him."

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