McCain PACs Political Heat

We haven't seen the last of John McCain yet - not by a long shot.

The Arizona senator's advisers are preparing to establish a political action committee (PAC) that would allow him to lay the groundwork for possible future White House run.

McCain is expected to give the final go-ahead on the project when he returns to work next week, his advisers said.

George W. Bush, who has clinched the GOP nomination, is eager to mend fences with McCain. The Arizonan had enormous success with voters who normally don't vote in GOP primaries, but he couldn't overcome Bush's stranglehold over party regulars and social conservatives. However, McCain, who is in no hurry to endorse the Texas governor, may be mulling his own next move more than focusing on electing a Republican in 2000.

Advisers say the most likely option is the formation of a political action committee that would not accept the freewheeling "soft money" contributions that McCain is trying to ban. The committee, dubbed "Straight Talk America," would pay for McCain's expenses, which aides expect to include:

• A speaking tour that would take him to college campuses and other sites to promote campaign finance reform.
• Campaign stops for Republican candidates in congressional and statewide races. McCain has received dozens of requests from candidates since he abandoned the presidential race, and it appears the first recipient of his good graces will be U.S. Senate hopeful Rudy Giuliani. Ironically, Giuliani said this week he's setting up a PAC to take in the soft money that McCain loathes.
• Political activities at the Republican National Convention this summer. Advisers are recommending that McCain fight any attempt by Bush to strip him of his delegates, and that he use his influence to shape the GOP platform.

McCain's advisers are modeling the effort after Ronald Reagan, who lost the Republican nomination to President Ford in 1976 and immediately set up a political operation to establish himself as the front-runner in 1980, the year he was first elected.

Forming a PAC "is a very smart idea," said GOP consultant Scott Reed, who ran Dole's 1996 campaign. "John McCain clearly is a national figure with tens of thousands of supporters and it would be a disappointment for him not to continue his dialogue with reform-minded backers."

McCain is said to still be angry at Bush for questioning his commitment to breast cancer research and other distorted campaign attacks.

Advisers say McCain would eventually be willing to help Bush's presidential campaign if the nominee and his staff show respect for McCain's campaign-finance cause.

McCain's staff says an endorsement, if it comes, would be made after a long process i which the two rivals bury their personal animosities and the two staffs determine how best to reach McCain's voters.

Currently, McCain's campaign has just enough money on hand to cover the cost of shutting the operation down.

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