Late Tuesday afternoon, the presidential entourage arrived at the Montelucia Resort and Spa, a sprawling luxury retreat on the outskirts of Phoenix. The motorcade alone stretched several city blocks, and after it had left, sheriff’s deputies and secret service agents stood lookout between the Mediterranean style villas. Other hotel guests hurried about with cameras trying to divine which bungalow the President of the United States had rented for the evening.
But Barack Obama’s appearance for the night was not the only thing afoot. As the presidential pomp circled about, Obama’s former rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain arrived with far less fanfare and made his way to Montelucia’s Valencia Ballroom, where over a spread of elaborate sweets and red wine, the former Republican candidate for president held a fundraiser for his next Senate campaign. Among those on hand to celebrate the fundraiser was Rick Davis, McCain’s former campaign manager, sporting a freshly-grown mustache. “I’m in disguise,” he joked. Asked about the irony of the two presidential rivals’ missed connections, Davis said simply, and with a smile, “We were here first.”