New Yorkers of many political persuasions will gather at the New York Sheraton tonight to raise funds for Senator McCain. They are supporting Mr. McCain for the simple reason that he is, hands-down, the best presidential candidate for New York.

Voters across the state increasingly are arriving at that conclusion, according to recent polls, and for good reason: Mr. McCain is supremely qualified to serve as commander-in-chief; he is the only candidate in the race who will keep a lid on taxes; and he has singularly demonstrated a willingness to reach across the aisle to move the nation forward.

No other candidate has those credentials.

Much has been said about the now proverbial 3 a.m. telephone call — who would you want answering the White House phone when a national emergency occurs? The question was coined during the Democratic primary in Texas, but the resounding answer comes from all quarters: Mr. McCain is indisputably best prepared to answer that call.

The importance to New Yorkers of Senator McCain’s experience in international affairs cannot be overstated — because that 3 a.m. call could well be coming from a 212 or 718 telephone exchange. As much as we wish otherwise, New York remains a prime target for Al Qaeda and that threat is not going away. It will only increase in time as nuclear and biological technology becomes more readily accessible around the globe. So America needs to be prepared.

Mr. McCain is the only candidate speaking about the long-term terrorism challenge on the campaign trail. It is not a popular issue — we’d all like to think that the threat of terrorism is behind us — but Mr. McCain refuses to shrink from his responsibility to tell the American public the truth as he sees it.

The same goes for the economy. Other candidates are promising expensive government programs that may sound good on the stump, but that would require raising taxes to levels not seen since the 1970s.

Mr. McCain argues for fiscal prudence, even when it hurts him politically. Not everyone remembers the days of 70% marginal tax rates, 21% interest rates, and 40% capital gains rates, but anyone who lived through the 1970s can tell you the toll that taxes took on the American economy. New York City almost went bankrupt during those years.

Governor Paterson reported last week a $27.5 billion state budget deficit over the next fours years. Calling that number “insurmountable,” he warned that it could quickly grow higher. The shortfall is the result of lost Wall Street tax revenue, which has fueled New York’s growth for more than a century. Yet the other two candidates in the race are pledging to raise the capital gains and personal income tax rates. That is the last thing we need right now. The effect of major tax increases on an economy already reeling from the liquidity crisis would be incalculable.

Mr. McCain understands that growing American business, not the federal government, is the right answer for American families struggling with mortgages and rising food and fuel costs. He has pledged to make the 2001-2002 federal income tax cuts permanent, freeze the capital gains tax rate, and eliminate wasteful spending, like those federal earmarks that do nothing to serve the public. Those are all good things for New York.

But most important for New Yorkers is the way Senator McCain carries himself. Much has been said about “post-partisanship” in this race, but in Mr. McCain, New Yorkers can see the genuine article. He reminds us of the days when one would “vote the candidate” and not just the party line. John McCain, in how he treats his colleagues across the aisle, brings that possibility back to American politics. Maybe that’s why so many New Yorkers will be supporting him tonight.

Mr. Johnson, chairman of the Johnson Company, is the dinner chairman for tonight’s fundraiser for Senator McCain.