McCain Adviser Calls for Obama Financial Transparency

Citing reports alleging that Sen. Barack Obama  has received illegal campaign contributions from overseas, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis called for the Obama campaign to release its small-donor list ($200 or less) and live up to its promise of transparency. Federal rules don’t require disclosure of such donors.

Davis offered sardonic praise for Obama’s record-setting fund-raising for the month of September — $150 million — and said Obama will go down as “the greatest fund-raiser in presidential political history.”

However, Davis took the opportunity to question some of Obama campaign’s contributors. Specifically, he mentioned a report that an Obama supporter in the Gaza Strip ordered $30,000 worth of T-shirts from the campaign.

Davis also announced that the Republican National Committee will unveil a searchable Website tomorrow that will disclose all donors within 24 hours of their contribution.

Unfortunately for the McCain campaign, as is so often the case, even when it is probably right, Davis’ message is somewhat overshadowed by reports that the campaign solicited contributions — which, if given, would be illegal — from the Russian envoy to the United Nations.