STAMFORD, Apr 10 - Stamford Advocate
By Alexandra Fenwick
The Straight Talk Express stopped in Westport yesterday, with presumptive Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaking at a town hall-style event hosted by hedge fund founder and Greenwich resident Ray Dalio.
Before branching out into topics, including foreign oil, global warming and Gen. David Petraeus' recent testimony about Iraq on Capitol Hill, McCain spoke about the economy to about 350 employees of Bridgewater Associates, which manages $150 billion in hedge funds and other global investments.
McCain also attended a private, $2,300-a-seat fundraiser at Greenwich's Belle Haven Club yesterday. Dalio was part of the committee that hosted McCain's visit to the club.
Bridgewater employees have contributed more than $60,000 to McCain's campaign, according to financial reports, including five donations totaling $13,800 from Dalio.
Dalio's $4 billion fortune recently landed him 260th on Forbes magazine's list of the 500 wealthiest people worldwide.
"I have never been more excited about a candidate for president than I am about John McCain," Dalio said.
The candidate's "Straight Talk" slogan is in keeping with the open corporate culture the Bridgewater president and chief information officer said he promotes within his company.
A handful of Bridgewater employees have also contributed to the campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, whom U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Bridgeport, said he would like to see take on McCain.
Shays, who flew with McCain on the charter airplane that arrived at Westchester County Airport yesterday afternoon, said U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Obama would be formidable opponents, but Obama offers an interesting contrast.
"Both understand the country needs to come together, and John has made it his mission to work with Democrats. He's conservative, but he's not an ideologue," Shays said, noting that McCain's work across the political aisle has earned him a reputation among some Republican voters as not "pure" enough. "Barack is saying the president should be how John McCain is. He's describing John McCain," Shays said. Dalio, who said yesterday that he had never actively supported a candidate before McCain, pulled out all the stops for his first foray into the political fray.
Outside Bridgewater's Glendinning Place office yesterday in a large tent in a grove of pine trees, John Philip Sousa marches and Bruce Springsteen songs played before McCain arrived. After McCain left, employees drank beer, nibbled hors d'oeuvres and listened to colleagues perform in a rock band.
In between, McCain spoke and took questions from Bridgewater employees, who arrived toting copies of McCain's biography and wearing American flag stickers. Each employee was able to submit a question for the candidate in advance. Four were chosen before the floor was opened for spontaneous inquiries.
McCain told employees that fixing the slumping economy is a priority.
"While we're sitting here now, I'm sure you can appreciate that American families are sitting around the kitchen table figuring out if they need to take another job," McCain said.
Stimulus packages and efficiency are the solution to the country's economic woes, not "big government" and increased taxes, he said.
While the senator said he does not support increasing capital gains taxes, he said he does back some business reforms, including non-binding ballots giving stockholders input on corporate paychecks.
"My friends, there is a backlash in America today against corporate greed. Many people are angry at Wall Street," McCain said.
Bridgewater employee Edward Segel, 24, a Norwalk resident, posed a preselected question yesterday, asking McCain how he would restore integrity to president's office if he were elected president.
Segel cited President Bush being booed at a recent Washington Nationals baseball game as an example that Americans have lost confidence in their leader.
"I think the people of this world and this country don't want us ever to torture a person in our custody," McCain answered.
The former prisoner of war in North Vietnam said that he holds no sympathy for "evil" terrorists but said the county cannot take the moral high ground if it engages in torture.
"What kind of a nation are we if we do that to people? That's not the shining city on the hill," McCain said.
At the entranced to gated Belle Haven in Greenwich, more than 20 protesters stood waiting for McCain, holding signs opposing his support of the war and backing of President Bush's tax cuts. They hardly noticed when police waved McCain's vehicle through, not realizing the candidate was inside.
Cynthia Tun, 50, a Watertown resident who opposes McCain's position on the war, said she came to protest because she believes the money being spent in Iraq could be better used to help Americans struggling to make ends meet.
"He needs to start listening," she said of McCain.
Anti-war protesters are a common fixture of McCain's campaign trail and one the candidate said he welcomes.
"I respect not only their opinion but their right to demonstrate their views," McCain said. "It's a right that I will always do my best to protect."
Other protesters, included representatives of the AFL-CIO, criticized McCain's support of extending Bush's tax cuts, saying they benefit the rich. "I'm in favor of cutting taxes for poor people," said John Olsen, state president for the AFL-CIO of Connecticut.
McCain said it would be unfair to allow the tax cuts to lapse because many people have come to depend on them.
"If we don't make the tax cuts permanent, then Americans, including middle-income Americans, are going to experience the effect of a tax increase," he said. "I don't think it's the right thing to do for our economy as well as millions of America."
McCain also said he supports reducing government spending to pay for the tax cuts, though he acknowledged that he also favors spending more to address some of his projects, such as a cap-and-trade system to combat climate change and immigration reform.
"Most of my proposals are not expensive and will actually contribute to the economy," he said.
Despite the protests, McCain drew fans in Greenwich, such as Laurie Jeffrey, who rallied her children to the end of their driveway, where they stood opposite the protesters, holding signs welcoming the senator.
Eight-year-old Ryan Jeffrey said he believed McCain could make a good president.
"He could be a very good one. because we've had some bad ones," he said.
McCain yesterday called U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., who has endorsed him, a good friend. McCain declining to say whether Lieberman was on a short list of possible running mates.
"The process we're going through, we don't talk about individuals for fear of invasion of privacy," McCain said. "There's no doubt that Joe Lieberman will serve this nation in a number of capacities. I certainly hope he would. In fact I know he has."
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