WASHINGTON, D.C -- Big-time Republican contributors are complaining that prospective presidential nominee John McCain is poorly organized for the campaign and off to a bad start in raising money.

McCain begins well behind Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 money derby, and longtime Republican givers say there is no coherent plan for catching up and getting ahead.

The bright spot for McCain in the opinion of the GOP money men is the presence in his campaign of New York investment banker Lew Eisenberg, an experienced Republican fund-raiser. Eisenberg, a pro-choice social liberal who has often contributed to Democrats, was attacked by conservatives when he came on board with McCain in 2007. When McCain clinched the nomination, Eisenberg was sent to the Republican National Committee as victory finance chairman.

UNGUIDED BILL

Bill Clinton's campaigning in Pennsylvania just before Tuesday's primary antagonized Democrats who did not necessarily support Sen. Hillary Clinton against Sen. Barack Obama.

"He is an unguided missile who occasionally hits his wife accidentally," said former campaign consultant Bob Shrum, who has not endorsed anybody for president this year. Shrum's comments came after Clinton had accused the Obama campaign of "playing the race card," and the next day denied saying that (and added a profanity).

Although the former president may be out of control, the Clinton campaign has not put him on the bench. He continues to campaign for his wife in small towns, where he remains popular.

MCCAIN FOR GUNS

Sen. John McCain, continuing to mend his right-wing fences, will do something next month that George W. Bush never has done during seven and a half years as president: attend a National Rifle Association event.

McCain plans to be in Louisville, Ky., on May 16 for the NRA's "Celebration of American Values." Also on hand will be two of McCain's defeated rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.

The NRA gave McCain a mediocre C-plus rating in 2004, but since then his pro-gun voting record as a senator has been 100 percent. While some activists in the gun-ownership movement are still suspicious of McCain, his voting is vastly better than that of his two Democratic opponents, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Each is graded F by the NRA. Continued...