McCain turns to Bush to help close fundraising gap

US: JOHN McCAIN will turn to President George Bush today for help in closing a yawning fundraising gap with Democratic frontrunner…

US:JOHN McCAIN will turn to President George Bush today for help in closing a yawning fundraising gap with Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama as both parties prepare for what could be the most expensive presidential election in history.

Mr Bush, who remains his party's most successful fundraiser despite his record-breaking unpopularity, will attend a fundraising event at Mr McCain's ranch in Arizona. The Republican trails both Mr Obama and Hillary Clinton in raising cash, taking in just $17 million in April compared to Mr Obama's $31 million and Mrs Clinton's $21 million.

The Democrats have been raising so much from so many donors that the Federal Election Commission said this week that both candidates' quarterly fundraising reports were too big to be processed by conventional software programmes such as Excel and Lotus 1-2-3.

All three candidates attended Memorial Day events yesterday as the Democratic primary campaign enters its final week. Mrs Clinton was in Puerto Rico, which votes next Sunday, two days before the final primaries in South Dakota and Montana.

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As Mrs Clinton sought to recover from the row last week over her invocation of Robert F Kennedy's assassination, her husband, former president Bill Clinton, accused Mr Obama's allies in the media of covering up polls that suggest she has the best chance of winning in November.

"She is winning the general election today and he is not, according to all the evidence. And I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running," Mr Clinton said. "Her only position was, 'Look, if I lose I'll be a good team player. We will all try to win, but let's let everybody vote, and count every vote.'"

Over the weekend Mr McCain hosted a number of politicians who have been mentioned as possible vice-presidential candidates, including Florida governor Charlie Crist, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who also sought the Republican presidential nomination this year.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, another former rival, was invited but could not attend but Mr McCain's campaign insisted the meeting was a purely social occasion and not part of his search for a running mate.

Mr Obama has sought to dampen speculation about his choice of running mate, insisting that it is premature before he wins enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.