McCain Shake-up
by Pamela LeaveyTwo of John McCain’s top aides resigned today in what Dan Balz of the WaPo called, “stunning shakeup of a campaign that has been roiled by financial and political problems.”
Campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver issued terse statements announcing their departures from the McCain camp, which reportedly came after the candidate erupted after concluding that his top-level advisers had mismanaged the operation.
An angry McCain reportedly confronted Weaver and Nelson about the campaign’s operations, particularly the amount of money that was being spent even when it was clear funds were tight. The final confrontation, coming after McCain returned from a visit to Iraq over the weekend, ultimately led to their departures, according to sources.
This realy doesn’t bode well for McCain at all. The speculation is rampant, including comparing the McCain Mess to “one John F. Kerry faced four years ago, when he dismissed several top advisers after his campaign had fallen into a tailspin.” Kerry pulled out just fine, obviously, going on to win the Democratic nomination. McCain however, is seriously struggling in the mire.
Chris Cillizza notes: “If you need to understand just how serious the damage is to Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign as a result of the resignations of two top strategists, you need only look at our earlier post on McCain’s Inner Circle.”
Marc Ambinder reports on the inside story on Atlantic Online: The McCain Decimation: The Inside Story: UPDATED. And on Swampland, Ana Marie Cox calls it, “McCain’s Sad Finale.”
Stay tuned as McCain seeks to save his sinking campaign…
Filed under: Democrats, Election '08, Elections, In The News, John Kerry, Politics, Republicans | Get Permalink or trackback |
McCain’s the kind of Republican that I can find plenty of things to disagree with, but also a number of things I can respect. That’s becoming a rare thing out in the wateland that his tribe inhabits.
That having been said, I’m sure he would be no better than four or five notches above GWB as a President. And I didn’t really worry about it because I felt he was going nowhere from day one.
McCain appears to have blown it for himself. He could have been less emphatic in his support of Bush in 2004. He could have been less asskissing to the religious right. He could have been more honest about Iraq. In a way he has done to himself what Rove’s strategists are suppose to do to their poliical enemies–attack them on their strengths. McCain had the straightshooter image created for himself and he went about taking himself down.
Cadium
Yup. McCain looks like he’s toast at this point and I can’t say I am sorry.