McCain Loses Longtime Ally in Campaign Shakeup

In the mid-1990s, years before Sen. John McCain officially launched his first bid to become president, John Weaver whispered the magic words in the senator's ear: That he had all the ingredients to win the nomination and the Oval Office.

Weaver -- a lanky, fidgety Republican strategist with a deceptively low-key Southern drawl -- would go on to become one of McCain's closest advisers during the 2000 race, an architect of the "Straight Talk Express."

Like so many of McCain's aides, Weaver also grew into became a personal friend.

Yet, even by the standards of the legendary McCain inner circle, Weaver occupied a special place. He traveled with McCain everywhere. Weaver was, quite literally, the senator's right-hand man: on the road, Weaver would join McCain, whose range of arm motions was limited by his wounds in Vietnam, in his hotel room to help him comb his hair.

"They've had a very close personal relationship," said Howard Opinsky, another longtime McCain insider. "It was born out of all the time they spent together, and the respect they had for one another. John's loyalty to McCain has been unsurpassed."

On Tuesday, the bond broke, at least in public. In a stunning turn of events, Weaver quit the McCain campaign, citing differences in direction.

Other McCain associates said that disputes over money -- in particular, tens of millions spent so far this year on a campaign that has only spiraled downward -- caused the fracture between the candidate and one of his closest aides.

The split -- much more than a run-of-the-mill campaign shakeup -- ended a decade-long alliance between two figures who shared a passionate, sometimes emotional, approach to politics. Republican advisers said Weaver's departure was as unthinkable as Karl Rove leaving George W. Bush, or James Carville being shooed out of the Bill Clinton campaign.

It was Weaver, after all, who after helping persuade McCain to run, guided the Straight Talk express. While strategist Mike Murphy engineered the overall political and communications strategy, and author and top Senate aide Mark Salter channeled McCain's original outlook into best-selling books, it was Weaver who put the game plan into action on the ground each day. He conducted a daily 6 a.m. campaign conference call and took attendance, with no exceptions: if any one individual joined the call late, it would move up a half hour, to 5:30 a.m., the following day.

When McCain won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2000, Weaver received much of the credit. When McCain went on to lose in South Carolina -- after what was widely painted as a negative whisper campaign directed by top Bush aides -- Weaver took it as a personal affront. During a campaign train swing later that year, in which McCain and Bush were supposedly reconciling, Weaver mischievously snatched up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that been prepared for the Texas governor.

Later, disgusted by the Bush administration, Weaver signed on congressional Democrats as clients. But almost as rapidly, and as convincingly, he orchestrated a rapprochement between McCain and his former nemesis, President Bush. By the time the 2008 campaign got underway, Weaver had established himself as the premier strategist. In the meantime, he weathered a divorce and a serious bout with cancer, in both cases counting McCain among the friends who offered him support.

On Tuesday, the new campaign manager, Rick Davis, put out a somewhat terse statement on the new structure. "This campaign has always been about John McCain and his vision for reducing federal spending, defending traditional values, and winning the war against Islamic extremists," Davis said. "Today we are moving forward with John's optimistic vision for our country's future." Weaver did not return a call for comment.