Terry Nelson

"Remember, [McCain] hired the operative who put together the Ford/Bimbo ad," Marshall wrote, referring to McCain's onetime campaign manager, Terry Nelson, who helped produce the RNC's Tennessee spot in 2006.

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"Bullet" because of his bald head and because of his seemingly lethal impact. But despite his intimidating visage, Schmidt has inspired a legion of 20- and 30-something loyalists who've learned dawn-to-midnight, smashmouth politics at his knee. "Every campaign or campaign committee he's been a part of has produced a whole new group of proteges, many you've never heard of but who are slugging away everyday in D.C. and in political arenas across the country," said Brian Jones, who, like Nelson, worked with Schmidt in the first incarnation of McCain's campaign. Jones, who has worked with Schmidt on statewide and national campaigns going back to 1998, predicted that his impact "will be strong, and it will be immediately felt. "

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Weaver had sold Nelson to McCain as an impartial manager, but others on the staff viewed him as "a Weaver plant," said one longtime McCain friend who regularly talks to the senator. "McCain never bonded with Terry Nelson. They just didn't click."

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"I should have resigned in December when this wasn't settled and Terry wasn't given the authority any manager would need," Weaver said. "Every bad event in the campaign was a derivative of that event."

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"Now is not the time to be timid or to shy away from our challenges -- now is the time to stand up and say what we believe." In a brief encounter with reporters in the Capitol, McCain sought to portray the extraordinary changes as nothing significant. Speaking of the departures of Weaver and Nelson, he said: "I can only say repeatedly what I have told you.

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"Here's a governor of a blue state who has a very strong record of being a fiscal conservative, and cutting taxes in a state not always known for its fiscal discipline," Nelson said.

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"It is a delicate balance, a tightrope they need to walk in order to be successful." But Republican strategist Terry Nelson, who managed McCain's early campaign efforts, said potential candidates' groundwork must be laid to move quickly after the 2010 election. "Really, candidates have to decide that in the next 18 months because it's not the kind of thing anymore you can decide in June or July of 2011," Nelson said. Republican national committeewoman Phyllis Woods of New Hampshire plans to ask Pawlenty to visit her state when she sees him in California. Woods said she met Pawlenty during last summer's GOP convention in the Twin Cities and considers him a "feet-on-the-ground, good, solid, conservative Republican."

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"It is a delicate balance, a tightrope they need to walk in order to be successful." But Republican strategist Terry Nelson, who managed McCain's early campaign efforts, said potential candidates' groundwork must be laid to move quickly after the 2010 election. "Really, candidates have to decide that in the next 18 months because it's not the kind of thing anymore you can decide in June or July of 2011," Nelson said.

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"I always thought Sarah Palin had very strong candidate skills, and I think if she wants to run for office there are clearly Republicans out there that like what they hear. She'll certainly have a receptive audience if she runs for office," said Republican strategist Terry Nelson, who has advised President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain in the past. But the current poll numbers are not insignificant, says Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "What's driving it is the resignation and all the controversy,"

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"She could be a commentator," Nelson said.

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