McCain's Shadow Cabinet

Here are some brief sketches at some of the people floating around John McCain's world. For the sake of brevity I'm going to leave out all the lobbyists and those who traded with our enemies.

We'll start with fundraiser Clayton Williams.

ABC News is reporting that John McCain was “forced” to cancel a fundraiser with Texas oilman Clayton Williams. The same Texas Republican who, while running for Governor against the late great Ann Richards, was quoted saying:

“Rape is like the weather, if it’s inevitable relax and enjoy it.”

Now here's key surrogate Rudy Giuliani, carving out a unique niche as a loanshark:

WASHINGTON — With the Republican Party in need of money for the November elections, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has offered to appear at fund-raisers around the country for G.O.P. candidates. But there is a catch: He wants some cash out of the deal.

Rudolph W. Giuliani is trying to reduce a $3.6 million campaign debt through joint fund-raisers.
Mr. Giuliani’s aides have told the National Republican Congressional Committee and Congressional candidates that if he makes an appearance, he wants the candidates to help him get rid of his presidential campaign debt.

And finally, there's the newest bright hope in Republican politics, the wunderkind, the golden boy, Bobby Jindal:

As others noted during his 2003 and 2007 gubernatorial campaigns (see update), in an essay Jindal wrote in 1994 for the New Oxford Review, a serious right-wing Catholic journal, Jindal narrated a bizarre story of a personal encounter with a demon, in which he participated in an exorcism with a group of college friends. And not only did they cast out the supernatural spirit that had possessed his friend, Jindal wrote that he believes that their ritual may well have cured her cancer.

Reading the article leaves no doubt that Jindal -- who graduated from Brown University in 1991, was a Rhodes Scholar, and had been accepted at Yale Law School and Harvard Medical School when he wrote the essay -- was completely serious about the encounter. He even said the experience "reaffirmed" his faith.

It could be worse, of course. McCain could know this guy.