The Odd Couple

[August 1st, 2007]

If and when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) campaigns in Oregon for president, he'll attract uncomfortable questions for his most prominent political friend in the state.

Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), who's endorsed McCain's 2008 White House bid, recently reaffirmed his support for McCain's troubled campaign. But before McCain at the last minute canceled a scheduled fund-raiser Wednesday, Aug. 1 at Portland's Heathman Hotel, Smith had already RSVPed that he couldn't attend.

Local Dems suspect that's no coincidence, given that Smith wouldn't want to be tied on McCain's ''Straight Talk Express" campaign tracks as he faces a tough re-election bid of his own next year.

"If he's so stalwart a John McCain supporter, then it seems amazing that he wouldn't be by his side in Oregon," says Democratic consultant Mark Wiener. "And the primary reason he wouldn't do that is that it highlights his inconsistency on the war in Iraq."

Smith has been engaged in an awkward dance to distance himself from his earlier support for the Iraq war, while McCain remains one of the last loyal Bush soldiers on Capitol Hill.

Smith's campaign and congressional staff wouldn't comment on the disconnect between Smith's newfound war opposition and his continued support for the hawkish McCain. But on the Senate floor July 11, Smith downplayed any rift.

"Because of my difference with Sen. McCain on the way forward in Iraq, many members of the press, particularly in my home state, have asked me how can I continue to support Sen. McCain," Smith said. "I support him still because he is my friend."

Steve Novick, a Portland political activist seeking the Democratic Senate nomination to run against Smith, says McCain will be "a millstone around Gordon Smith's neck" during the Senate campaign.

"If McCain actually got out of the race, it would be good for Smith because he wouldn't be stuck with supporting him," Novick says. "Up until that point, it definitely hurts Smith to be supporting a guy who is not only pro-war but generally seems to be foundering."

The McCain campaign underwent a well-publicized meltdown last month. His campaign manager and several high-level staffers left after McCain reported a disappointing $25.9 million in contributions and just $2 million cash in hand as of June 30. That's peanuts compared to the $43.5 million that contributors gave former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the top GOP money man.

In Oregon, McCain was the No. 2 Republican money-getter. Romney raised $325,010 in Oregon through June 30. McCain collected $76,105. McCain's high-profile donors in the Portland area include former PGE executive vice president Fred Miller ($750), former U.S. House candidate Goli Ameri ($2,100), developer Homer Williams ($2,300), and Steve Holwerda, secretary of the Portland Business Alliance executive committee ($2,100).

Dems say a McCain comeback would damage Smith's chances of re-election. But so would betraying him.

"It's too late for that," Wiener says. "If he abandons McCain, he just looks like a weasel. If he sticks with McCain, it's just another example of him having to square his positions with his record."