To the tune of $50 million. The Phoenix Business Journal reports:

Arizona Sen. John McCain has launched a $50 million national fundraising and business outreach effort for his 2008 presidential bid and recently met with a group of two dozen leading Arizona chief executives and business chiefs.

McCain wants to raise $50 million nationally and $2.5 million in Arizona over the next couple of months, with a focus on gaining financial and political support from the business community.

The Phoenix-area meeting with McCain featured a select and very powerful group of Arizona business leaders and CEOs. Top executives from the airline industry, real estate, banking and professional sports sectors were at the invitation-only meeting with McCain. There were no formal invitations or publicity of the event, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

I wonder what sort of promises were made to the business community in exchange for the $50 million John McCain is looking to raise. Does this signal an end to the “straight talk express” and the start of the “back room largess”?