John McCain’s campaign informed in a recent press note: “A prominent Hillary Clinton supporter who is a member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee will endorse John McCain at a press conference at the Capitol Hill Club”. The supporter happened to be the prominent Clinton supporter,-Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, wife of British banking scion Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. She was one of Clinton’s top fundraisers, bringing in more than $100,000 for her presidential campaign.

As the nation’s economic crisis is worsening, the Obama campaign decided to sit back and let the announcement speak for itself. In fact, the announcement might not be a satisfying payoff to McCain’s supporters as well who feel that in the present environment of economic uncertainty, Lady Forester may not be the ideal spokesperson for the Republican presidential nominee. The Wall Street Journal has dubbed Lady Forester, who splits her time living in London and New York, as a ‘New York socialite’, and the Portfolio has described her as ‘the flashiest hostess in London’.

Some time back, during an interview, she commented about Senator Barack Obama. She told CNN, “frankly, I don’t like him. I feel like he is an elitist.” Accusing the Democrats of becoming ‘too extreme’, she said that McCain will lead the country in a ‘centrist fashion’.

In a written statement, circulated by the McCain campaign, Lady Forester says, “In an election as important at this, we must choose the candidate who has a proven record of bipartisanship and reforming government, and that’s John McCain. We can’t afford a president who lacks experience and judgment and has never crossed party lines to work for meaningful reform.”

It appears that she has not discussed her support for McCain with Clinton, as she said that “I’m sure she is not pleased with what I’m doing. But you know what? I have to do what I believe in.”

However, Hillary Clinton has offered a reaction to Lady Forester’s defection, by way of spokeswoman Kathleen Strand who said, “Senator Clinton disagrees with her decision. And she will continue to talk to her supporters about what is at stake and making the point that this critical election is not about who anyone is for – it’s about who is for the American people. And the answer is Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”