I didn't have a lot of questions ready for the interview I had scheduled this week with Linda McMahon, beyond the central one I couldn't wait to ask.

Do you have any regrets, I might have started, about spending $100 million of your own money to lose two races for the U.S. Senate?

I could have tried some followups, too, depending how she answered.

Like: Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night, thinking why did I do it again? Wasn't losing $50 million enough?

Or maybe: Has it ever come up in fights at home?

After all, who would blame a spouse, in the heat of an argument, for bringing up $100 million spent on two losing political campaigns. Wasting a lot less money than that has come up in squabbles in my household.

Of course I would have had other questions, too.

McMahon has surfaced as a national GOP mega-donor, and so her thoughts on all kinds of things, not just the prospects of Republican presidential hopefuls, are interesting.

She's arguably Connecticut's most prominent Republican, even though she's never held office.

Even more important, I would have liked to have asked what she's up to, what's the secret project she has suggested she's getting ready to launch.

In the end, I didn't get to ask any questions. I got stood up.

I am not really surprised she canceled our Wednesday interview date. It's not like I ever sang her praises during those two Senate races.

In fact, the interview was not my idea in the first place. I got an email last week from someone on her public relations staff — it is interesting to note that she has a PR staff — sending along a copy of a speech she gave at a recent GOP event in New Hampshire and inquiring whether I wanted to talk to her.

Sure, I wrote back, triggering an email correspondence with someone else on the PR staff, who ended up scheduling the interview for Wednesday at the Stamford offices of something called McMahon Ventures. This, I was told, is in a different building than WWE, the family wrestling business from which McMahon resigned to pursue her political career.

I got the cancellation email Tuesday afternoon, suggesting a possible rescheduling at some future date. I'm not holding my breath.

"She is working on a project she isn't quite ready to unveil and feels she would give a 'meatier' interview at a later date when she has more she can say," the staff person wrote.

Indeed, McMahon herself also teased the secret project in a March posting on her Facebook page, which accompanied some glamour pictures.

"Photo shoot today laying the groundwork for a project I'll be launching in the coming months — hoping it will empower more women pursuing leadership roles and entrepreneurship opportunities," the post said. "Stay tuned!"

In her talk to Republicans in New Hampshire, McMahon hit a lot of conciliatory notes, suggesting the GOP needs a bigger tent and bigger bridges across the political aisle.

"I am a loyal Republican, but I am an American first," said McMahon.

McMahon, who sang a lot of high praise of Ronald Reagan, suggested — wisely, I might say — that Republicans could use a bold agenda.

I wonder what McMahon Ventures is going to unveil. How will McMahon blend her expertise in show business and interest in politics?

Maybe she's building a female Ronald Reagan avatar to climb into the ring.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct