Nagourney on the McCain shakeup:
[I]n moves that drew widespread derision by Republicans and delighted Democrats, Mr. McCain recently delivered a speech on energy policy before an audience of oil executives in Houston and came out in favor of offshore drilling in a speech in Santa Barbara, Calif. In both cases, Mr. McCain’s aides said, he ended up delivering those speeches in those locations because he was there fund-raising.
Which reminds me of Zengerle's good piece on McCainLand, which is worth a re-read for some context as to how we got here. One important theme is that Rick Davis came from a background in fundraising not strategy. ("Rick's like every finance guy, whose dream is not to have to stand by an ice sculpture raising money," one McCain adviser told Jason. "He wants to be a political guy.") Scheduling events around fundraisers may have been a function of a Rick Davis cash-first mentality.
--Michael Crowley