The presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, confirmed this afternoon that his $1,000-a-plate fundraiser slated for Wednesday in Springfield, Mo., is being postponed.

McCain wants to attend a memorial service Wednesday in Washington for NBC newsman Tim Russert, who died Friday of a heart attack.

McCain’s campaign spokespeople emphasized Monday that his public forum/town hall event in Springfield will still go on as scheduled on Wednesday, although the time may change.

That event will focus on energy, and will feature a panel of experts, a spokesman said Monday.

The Springfield stop is part of a week-long series of events around the country that will deal with the nation’s energy problems, the spokesman said. The first such event is to be in Houston on Tuesday.

McCain’s campaign Web site on Monday afternoon appeared to have excised all of the Springfield stop from his campaign schedule, and instead shows only a fundraising event in Chicago. A campaign spokeswoman said that the Springfield stop remained, just abbreviated.

According to the Springfield News-Leader, the fundraising event is being rescheduled for late July.