July 10, 2007

John McCain troubles

John McCain jettisoned two top aides, the one-time Republican front-runner struggling to right a presidential bid in deep financial and political trouble. Campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver offered McCain their resignations, which the Arizona senator accepted. Other senior aides followed the two out the door, and the campaign announced that Rick Davis, who managed McCain's 2000 bid and the current campaign's chief executive officer, will take over. The second major staff shake-up in a week comes as McCain grapples with several problems, not the least of which are his dwindling bank account of some $2 million and slippage in opinion polls. He also has staked out politically unpopular positions on two key issues (the Iraq war and immigration) that have hindered his candidacy. Considered the GOP front-runner as the year began, McCain now faces significant hurdles to winning the Republican nomination that eluded him seven years ago. The senator is essentially restarting his campaign six months before the first voting begins.

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