McCain Press Staff Quits
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ABC News’ Rick Klein and John Berman report: The bleeding continues at John McCain’s presidential campaign. On Monday, five McCain press aides — including his three top communications officials — quit en masse, just days after the campaign lost its chief strategist and campaign manager among dozens of aides being shed as part of aggressive cost-cutting measures. The aides to resign — communications director Brian Jones, deputy communications directors Danny Diaz and Matt David, and press aides Adam Temple and Amanda Hennenberg — all agreed to stay on a few extra days out of loyalty to McCain, and helped him set up his weekend trip to New Hampshire. One of the aides to resign told ABC News on condition of anonymity that the aides all felt primary loyalty to Terry Nelson, whom McCain replaced as campaign manager last week, and did not see roles for themselves under new campaign chief Rick Davis. In addition, the aide said, having an aggressive and large national press staff does not make sense in the pared-down operation McCain is now running, where he is focusing almost exclusively on New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina. "What’s the point in having a national press staff when you’re only running a campaign in three states?" the aide said. Nelson and long-time McCain strategist John Weaver resigned last week as the depth of McCain’s fund-raising woes became evident. He ended the first half of 2007 with just $3.2 million cash on hand — and $1.8 million in campaign debts — far less than the $45 million the campaign budget called for McCain to have in the bank at this point in the campaign. McCain appears to have parted on good terms with his press staff; he shared a drink with Jones, Diaz, and David on Friday night in New Hampshire, after word of their decision to quit began to leak out.. One Republican close to the campaign said McCain’s new national communications director will be Jill Hazelbaker, who is currently McCain’s New Hamsphire press secretary and will be moving to Washington to take on the new assignment. Veteran GOP consultant Charlie Black is also expected to take on a larger role in the campaign.
Republicans Duke it Out in Arizona 
Rick Santorum Defends Earmarks
Mccain is history. When you side with the bush crime family you also go down just as bush is going down. How in the world is bush/chaney not impeached???
Posted by: George | July 16, 2007, 10:51 am 10:51 am
Gee Mark. Better watch out for the helicopters.
Posted by: nojabo | July 16, 2007, 11:15 am 11:15 am
McCain is a great patriot and rightful defender of the Nation’s need to win in the Middle East! His demise as a presidential nominee is more a function of the fact his time has passed politically, not because of his principled beliefs!
Posted by: Otis Page | July 16, 2007, 11:48 am 11:48 am
Ron Paul needs media coverage!!!!! I’m tired of the press constantly marketing candidates that are simply drones. Time is overdue to try something completely different. It’s RP for me!!
Posted by: Brent | July 16, 2007, 11:53 am 11:53 am
To the guy who said “Ron Paul will win it all!!!”…
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Dozirulf | July 16, 2007, 12:00 pm 12:00 pm
McCain is history because the base didn’t support him. Think immigration, immigration, immigration. He is also a senator. Senators micro-manage everything and are often poor delegators. He was over-hyped by the once friendly national media as well, but that romance is over.
Posted by: Jeff Hill | July 16, 2007, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
Henry has nailed it. The BDs liberals are truly an embarrassment. Bush has done nothing to warrant impeachment–his dad not lie under court oath either. there is no proof he knew the CIA intelligence on WMD in Iraq was faulty and being slow to aid Katrina is no impeachable. The State should have done a better job. Sorry, but the libs hatred leads them to illogical conclusions.
Posted by: Den | July 16, 2007, 12:03 pm 12:03 pm
George said “When you side with the Bush crime family you are going down?” Side with them on WHAT? McCain is one of the biggest mavericks in the GOP and has clashed with the President tons of times. The only things he has been with GWB on high profile wise are immigration (Where he pushed Bush to an idea more in line with the Dems, and to fight the GOP on it) and the war. (Which has to be won, lest Iran and Al Queda get Iraq and have a shot into places like Saudi Arabia and Jordan as well – Which needs to be stopped by sticking things out there.) Also, calling the Bushes a “crime family” is funny, I don’t recall GWB pardoning Marc Rich, who made money off selling Iranian oil while they held the US Embassy people hostage, or making money off shady Arkansas land deals or cattle futures. Take the blinders of and face reality. Bush doesn’t run a crime family, and McCain and Bush have never been the biggest partners or buddies anyway.
Posted by: David Powell | July 16, 2007, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm
2 main reasons McCain has run out of steam:
1. Can’t get right-wing base voters out because of immigration.
2. Lost excitement with independents and moderates for so many reasons (Iraq, support of Bush in 2004, etc etc etc)
I actually look up to him for immigration, but can’t get past these reasons for the campaign meltdown.
Posted by: Al in SoCal | July 16, 2007, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
I used to be a fan of McCain and the straight talk express until he appeared on The Daily Show and John Stewart asked if he was going to “the dark side” (right of right) and he said “I think so”. At that point he jumped the shark to me. I had no more respect for him as a political figure. He had literally sold out. I almost feel sorry for him now, the party that says wait your turn, if you are a white man you will get your shot at the presidency. And he waited his turn and the party turned their back on him. When he turned his back on the independents he sent the final nail into the coffin that was his presidential hopes.
Posted by: Waleeg | July 16, 2007, 12:39 pm 12:39 pm
McCain lost steam because of one word: immigration. He is running for the nomination of the wrong party.
Posted by: Nate | July 16, 2007, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
As an Arizona Republican and former supporter, I believe Senator McCain began losing his home base when he played cute with the possiblity of running with Senator John Kerry in the last election. Now he’s really through due to his failure to get tough on illegals crossing the Arizona border, our biggest state issue.
Posted by: Randy | July 16, 2007, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
I liked John McCain for some time now, but when he caved into the Bible Thumping “base,” hauling his sorry butt to Bob Jones University, that ended it for me. He lost his credibility at that point, as he decided to buy into the very group that has hijacked the Republican Party. I can not register for any other party in WA State now except Republican or Democrat. They don’t have the option for Independant after the two main political parties got it removed from the voters ability to pick from three options. I am N OT voting Republican until the Bible thumping fools are thrown out of control of what was a great party. McCain is toast due to his own undoing folks. It’s a sad fact, but it has been clear for several months that that is the way it’s turned out. It was his own fault I feel.
Posted by: Donbsea | July 16, 2007, 1:25 pm 1:25 pm
McCain was arrogant, he supposedly was all for “Straight Talk” then tried to sneak the immigration bill through and have it voted on before many Senators would have had time to even read about it. He was blindsided by the response of his co-Senators to the outrage of their constituents because McCain is so use to ignoring the wishes of the people of Arizona.
Posted by: cambel | July 16, 2007, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
I notice some of the conservative comments are being deleted. LOL. Way to go ABC. Of course comments calling Bush a “crime family” remains. Left wing media all the way.
Posted by: ABC is a joke | July 16, 2007, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
McCain tried to give his country away to the 3rd world….not a big vote grabber to the conservative base.
Posted by: Shawn | July 16, 2007, 1:51 pm 1:51 pm
John McCain: “Read my lips: No New Illegal Immigration!” You are a decent guy but dumb as a bag of hammers…
Posted by: zenbuckaroo | July 16, 2007, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
I wish I could muster some pity for the man but, well, he was just so deceitful. And getting cozy with Ted Kennedy lost him a lot of credibility. He scored well in the polls this Spring because his name was recognized, the others were virtual unknowns, and he had the “inevitable factor” going for him. The Amnesty deal made people take notice of who he really was: a RINO of the worst kind. Hillary should take a lesson here. It’s ain’t over until the final pitch.
Posted by: Virginian | July 16, 2007, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
McCain’s Amnesty bill killed his campaign. There is no recovering from that disaster. He should just get out, the sooner the better for everyone, especially for him.
It’s not a question of image. This is not 2000. Those who are saying he just has to get back to his “rebel” roots lack understanding of what’s going on in 2008, when there are actually real issues on the table, issues that make peoples blood boil.
If McCain were elected President this time, he would again try to sneak through his Amnesty bill. The Republican base abhors his Amnesty bill, and so they’re not going to vote for him Not ever. It’s that simple.
McCain now is caught in a “misaligned reality”, and he’s swimming around in circles in it, trying to chase the tail of 2000, when there were no real issues on the table and the race was about image. That’s not the way things are in 2008. 2008 is about the Iraq war and about Amnesty for 12 million illegal aliens. He loses on both, overwhelmingly.
Posted by: Jake Long | July 16, 2007, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
This new Florida poll by ARG shows it’s over for McCain in Florida. In a month he has dropped down to 7%, which is a drop of 11% points. If it’s over for him in Florida, it’s over for him everywhere.
From RealClearpolitics on the poll: “On the Republican side, Fred Thompson has closed the gap with Giuliani considerably in the ARG survey while McCain has dropped well behind:
Republicans
Giuliani 33 (+2 vs. last poll in May)
Thompson 27 (+14)
Romney 12 (+1)
McCain 7 (-11)***
Gingrich 3 (-5)
Undecided 13 (nc)”
Posted by: Jake Long | July 16, 2007, 3:15 pm 3:15 pm
McCain cannot win the R nomination because he is a republican in name only; it’s really that simple.
The base wants someone who can at a minimum partially fill the Gipper’s shoes; that’s a big challenge and no one in either party look up for that comparison/challenge. It’s really too bad!
Posted by: William | July 16, 2007, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
McCain is dust. The “Kiss of Death” for McCain was when Lurch Kerry tapped McCain as his VP…
It’s been downhill for him as the GOP Standard Bearer ever since.
BTW, FRED THOMPSON will be the next President of the USA.
Posted by: Mike A | July 16, 2007, 3:31 pm 3:31 pm
I remember Rick Davis when he used to play golf naked from the waist down in the 80′s.
Posted by: Phil Stevens | July 16, 2007, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
Immigration may have been the final straw, but McCain-Feingold is where most thinking conservatives tossed him over the side.
“Congress shall make no law…”
What part of that confuses you, Senator? Did you sustain brain damage in Viet Nam? My First Amendment Rights are not negotiable at any price.
Posted by: Chester White | July 16, 2007, 4:27 pm 4:27 pm
Two reasons I won’t vote for McCain:
1. McCain/Feingold (What part of “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech..) do you not understand?
2. McCain/Kennedy (Amnesty is not a solution to an invasion from a third world country)
Posted by: South Carolina Conservative | July 16, 2007, 4:35 pm 4:35 pm
For God’s sake, if one more person calls it the “amnesty” bill I think I’ll have to resign from the human race on account of the amount of sheer stupidity that exists in the world.
The bill provided $4 BILLION for border security, and the security triggers had to be met BEFORE any of the other provisions went into effect. The immigrants in question would THEN have had to pay a $4,000 fine if they wanted to begin the process of becoming a citizen. After paying the fine, they would have had to RETURN TO THEIR HOME COUNTRY and file their application from there, in line behind everyone else who was acting within the bounds of the law. There would be additional fees and fines to pay, for a total of $7,000 and more than a decade of time in between beginning the path to citizenship and actually becoming a citizen.
That is not amnesty, by ANY definition. And it would be a heck of a lot better than the situation we have now, which is NO new $4 billion for border security, no actual attempt to deal with the problem, and no way of doing anything meaningful to prevent future illegal immigration.
As for working with Kennedy, OF COURSE HE WORKED WITH KENNEDY. Did everyone forget that the Republicans lost control of Congress after the 2006 election? If he’s going to get something done, he HAS to work with the Democrats, and Kennedy is pretty much the most senior Democratic senator. When did bipartisanship become a flaw instead of a virtue?
Posted by: Dan W | July 16, 2007, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
Also, as for McCain-Feingold, do you really think that money is equivalent to speech? Because that’s the only way McCain-Feingold violates the First Amendment.
The fact of the matter is, the Founding Fathers could never have anticipated politics as it is practiced today. There needs to be some way to balance the right to freedom of speech and to spend one’s money however one wants with the need to ensure that elections are not simply bought by whoever has the most money.
It’s not an easy question to answer, but I’m not prepared to abandon the only man in the race with principles because he may have erred too far on the side of preventing corruption in elections.
Posted by: Dan W | July 16, 2007, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
Where’s the FENCE McCain ?? The dark of night Amnesty/Immigration deal was his downfall. When people get to the Senate they seem to get out of touch with reality and become so arrogant they self destruct. Alaska’s two Senators are the same, going downhill.
Posted by: Alaska Fed Up Conservative | July 16, 2007, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm
Too late McCain. Retire.
Posted by: marc | July 16, 2007, 6:51 pm 6:51 pm
Dan, the brilliant Founding Fathers most definitely did anticipate politics of today. Exactly the reason Presidents and Senators were not to be selected by popular vote {or mob rule}. If you recall, Senators were selected by the States to act in the State best interest. It wasn’t a popularity contest. Same with President. Some where along the line politicians decided it would be easier to get elected and remain elected by playing to the whims of popular vote rather than the best interest of the State which they represent. You want to eliminate money from the selection process? Get back to the intent of the Founding Fathers. They knew exactly what they were doing. There is nothing new under the sun.
JWP
Posted by: JWP | July 16, 2007, 11:56 pm 11:56 pm
McCain is imploding because he’s been trying to win both the Republican and Democrat Primaries at the same time. Mr. middle-of-the-road Maverick McCain has no principles.
Posted by: AVoterInArizona | July 17, 2007, 12:00 am 12:00 am
McCain’s campaign ended with the immigration debacle. He took the wrong side of the debate. He doesn’t hold to conservative principles and would never have won the nomination.
Posted by: Sean McIntire | July 17, 2007, 12:52 am 12:52 am
I agree with George that McCain is done…. but not because he’s with Bush… it’s because he has been trying to play both sides of the political fence… you can’t do that… when you try to play it down the middle of the road… all that ends up happening is you get run over… i.e. MODERATE…
Posted by: Mike | July 17, 2007, 1:17 am 1:17 am
And yet, he’s still the most qualified (far more than qualified) candidate for 2008, on any subject of merit, national defense in particular. That the weather vane lefty press has abandoned him during a time of war is nothing new.
Posted by: JG Ulmer | July 17, 2007, 5:20 am 5:20 am
As anticipated, the flood of McCain staff resignations continues
…
Posted by: The Tower: Surveying the Political World From High Above | July 17, 2007, 12:30 pm 12:30 pm
McCain may be principled and i commend him for his service and his wartime torture he had to endure, but he sided with the wrong group, he refused to change his tune from a failed policy and he doesn’t have enough compromise on major issues to be popular with the national vote. People have no reason to vote for him anymore.
period.
Posted by: Steve | July 17, 2007, 3:52 pm 3:52 pm