The Ship Be Sinkin'

Terry Nelson and John Weaver, the brain trust of Team McCain, are gone. So are three others.

Did I ever take that bet with my commenter Hooper, who said that McCain would "definitely be the next President"? I'll let him off the hook and say I didn't.

Nelson and Weaver seemed to be spending money like drunken sailors with little to show for it. Say what you want about his "low fundraising totals," they're more than Howard Dean ever raised at this comparable stage. $20 million or so is a lot of money. How $18 million went out the door is the... $18 million-dollar question.

McCain was tased by Bush on the way in (at the 2000 South Carolina primary) and on the way out (by holding fast to his failed Iraq policy). He was a terrible campaigner whose only constituency was the media. Expect a spate of stories about the "proud warrior" who just couldn't put the country through him losing and fell on his sword. The truth is somewhat different.

(In case you're wondering, yes I think he'll be out of the race faster than you can say "Phil Gramm")