July 10, 2007

McCain Loses Campaign Manager, Chief Strategist

UPDATED.

Sen. John McCain, who has been struggling to right his faltering presidential bid, was hit with multiple resignations from the very top of his campaign structure today.

"This morning I informed Senator McCain that I would be resigning from his presidential campaign, effective immediately," said campaign manager Terry Nelson in a statement to the press. "It has been a tremendous honor to serve Senator McCain and work on his campaign."

Nelson was joined by chief strategist John Weaver, a longtime McCain adviser who angrily left the GOP following McCain's bruising primary loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 election.

"I believe that most Americans will come to the conclusion that I have long known there is only one person equipped to serve as our nation's chief executive and deal with the challenges we face, and that person is John McCain," Weaver said in his statement.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reports that chief of staff Mark Salter has also stepped down, although he will remain on board in an advisory role.

McCain's camp distributed the press release regarding Nelson and Weaver around 11:15 this morning, just as the senator was delivering a floor speech about his latest trip to Iraq. Last week, several top advisers to McCain held a conference call to explain the campaign "restructuring" that was under way, which entailed job cuts in every department after a disappointing second quarter of fundraising that left him with just $2 million in cash on hand.

In another release issued shortly after McCain wrapped up his remarks on the Senate floor, the Arizona Republican said he accepted Nelson and Weaver's resignations "with regret and deep gratitude for their dedication, hard work and friendship." Later in the afternoon, the campaign announced that Rick Davis, its CEO, would take over as campaign manager.

Ambinder reports that, according to "a half dozen Republicans close to the campaign," the split between McCain and his advisers was not amicable and that the rift began when the second-quarter fundraising results came in and the senator proposed promoting Davis, who managed his 2000 campaign, to "a position of co-equal power with Nelson."

Though McCain's campaign appears to be unraveling from the core, he vowed to press forward with his bid for the presidency: "In the days and weeks ahead this campaign will move forward, and I will continue to address the issues of greatest concern to the American people, laying out my vision for a secure and prosperous America."

In contrast to his 2000 run, which launched his political star, McCain has had trouble establishing momentum for his candidacy this cycle. For one, the many independent-minded voters who were so attracted to him seven years ago are now at odds with him on their No. 1 issue, the war in Iraq. More than anyone else in the Republican field, McCain's political viability lives or dies by President Bush's ability to stabilize that country. By most accounts, the prospects of a peaceful Iraq this election cycle are practically nil.

On Monday, several McCain advisers reportedly urged McCain to leave the Senate in order to focus on his presidential bid. But because of his status as the Senate's most respected defender of the war, that seems unlikely.

Posted at 4:02 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, John McCain, Republicans, WH 2008
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