1115.org

John McCain, you may remember, is the worst nightmare of some truly horrible people:

Hamas: “I think that people should understand that I will be Hamas’ worst nightmare.”

Democrats: “Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus said McCain is the worst nightmare for Democrats and he pledged to deliver the state for him.”

So what is McCain’s worst nightmare? It could well be being seen in public with one George “Kiss of Death” Bush. Or more likely, being photographed with George.

Bush was slated to headline a fundraiser for McCain last night in Phoenix, AZ. The fundraiser was initially scheduled to be held at the Phoenix Convention Center, but on Friday it was announced that it was being moved to a private residence. No official explanation was offered, but two different stories were put out:

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

If the fundraiser had been held at the convention center, it would apparently have been open to the media. However, the Bush White House has had a long-standing policy of excluding media from fundraisers held at private residences.

Whatever it is that John and George do in private, and how often, it’s been a long time since they have been seen holding hands or kissing in public. This would have been the first event in a long time where McCain and Bush would be photographed together. It seems that Bush’s whole visit was carefully choreographed to minimize joint photo ops:

The president and his would-be successor were appearing together Tuesday for the first time in nearly three months at an event that epitomized both elements of their tricky alliance — they were holding a fundraiser with GOP faithful at a private home, without the media to document it.

By the McCain campaign’s own planning, the only time Bush and McCain would be captured on camera would be after the event — and too late to make most evening newscasts — on the Phoenix airport tarmac in the shadow of Air Force One, just before the president departs.

Why any joint photo op at all? As the WSJ put it:

A senior adviser to Sen. McCain said the campaign considered the risk of having the candidate appear with the president at all but concluded there was no way to avoid it given that the event was in Sen. McCain’s home state.

But it gets even funnier:

John McCain’s presidential campaign distributes a daily email to reporters, letting journalists know about the senator’s schedule. The big event, obviously, for McCain today is his event alongside the president of the United States, with whom he has not appeared publicly for months. In this morning’s email, “McCain’s campaign made no mention that the leader of the free world would be appearing with the candidate tonight.”

McCain really seems to think, doesn’t he, that if he closes his eyes, then we can’t see him?