McCain cuts staff after low fundraising

Republican John McCain struggled to keep his deeply troubled campaign afloat Monday, laying off dozens of staffers after lackluster fundraising and excessive spending left him with just $2 million for his second presidential bid.

Six months before primary voting begins, McCain is struggling for some semblance of momentum.

McCain's support in national polls has slipped. He is in single digits in some surveys in Iowa and South Carolina, trailing Giuliani, the former New York mayor; Romney, the ex-governor of Massachusetts, and Fred Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator who hasn't officially entered the race.

Source: 2 top aides to McCain campaign quit

John McCain's campaign manager and chief strategist quit Tuesday, the second major staff shake-up in a week for the Republican presidential candidate who trails his rivals in money and polls.
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The shake-up comes just six months before the first voting in Iowa and as McCain, once considered the front-runner, seeks to regain some momentum with a diminishing list of options to lift his candidacy.
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Over the past six months, his donors and supporters were turned off by what they viewed as McCain embracing the policies of a lame-duck president with abysmal approval ratings. That caused McCain's polling and fundraising to suffer.

More at Source: More Staff Depart From McCain Campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain's top communications aides and several staffers in Iowa and South Carolina quit on Monday, the latest departures to hit the Republican as he struggles to rebound from financial and political woes.
Brian Jones, McCain's communications director, and his two deputies, Matt David and Danny Diaz, stepped down but plan to stay on through the week. Two others in the communications shop at the campaign headquarters also are leaving, as are two staffers apiece in Iowa and South Carolina.
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In Iowa, Tim Miller, his state communications director, and Marlys Popma, the Iowa coalitions director who was serving as a link to the state's influential religious conservative community, also announced their resignations. And, in South Carolina, Adam Temple, a spokesman for the candidate, and Josh Robinson, the state field director, also stepped down.
"The leadership team that I came to work for is no longer leading this campaign," Temple said.
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"We're trying to find some warm bodies to raise money," said Cassandra L. Vandenberg, McCain's finance chief in California. McCain was courting them to join his finance committee, currently a group of between 80 and 90 people who help him pull in donations, she said.
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McCain's second presidential bid has experienced enormous upheaval in the past two weeks as he accepted the resignations of Nelson and Weaver and watched other senior staffers leave as well; elevated Rick Davis to campaign manager from chief executive officer; laid off dozens of workers because of money problems; and disclosed that the campaign has only $1.5 million to spend.
Politically, McCain has watched his national poll numbers slide over the past six months, in part because of his unpopular positions on Iraq and immigration. He is seeking to restart his faltering bid with a smaller campaign staff and a narrower strategy focused on the three early voting states.