The Nation - Top McCain advisors step down - The cash-strapped campaign loses four, including manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver.

The departures of chief strategist John Weaver and campaign manager Terry Nelson marked a new low in McCain's second run for the White House. Once the Republican front-runner, he now faces a severe cash shortage that has driven him to cut more than half of his campaign staff, which once numbered 150.

The Arizonan's support for the Iraq war and an overhaul of immigration laws also hurt his appeal across a wide spectrum of the party's voters.

Nelson, who offered no public explanation for his resignation, conceded last week that the campaign was built on the unrealized premise that McCain would raise more than $100 million this year; it reported $2 million in the bank at the end of June.

On Tuesday, McCain replaced Nelson with Rick Davis, a longtime aide who had been the campaign's chief executive officer.

More startling was the resignation of Weaver, a Texan who helped guide McCain's rise in national politics and designed the plan for the 2008 race. Weaver once described himself as "the one guy who can tell John, 'No.' "

In a statement, McCain called Weaver "my friend and trusted counselor for many years."

He said he had accepted resignations from Weaver and Nelson "with regret and deep gratitude."

Also stepping down were Reed Galen, McCain's deputy campaign manager, and Rob Jesmer, his political director.

Mary Kate Johnson, his finance director, submitted her resignation as well, but her status was unresolved, a McCain aide said.

For weeks, McCain has faced doubts about his political viability, and questions about whether he could stay in the race mounted following new turmoil within his camp. He told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that he would stick it out.

On the Senate floor, he gave a speech reiterating his support for President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, saying the U.S. military was "making progress." He plans to give another speech on Iraq in New Hampshire on Friday.

"My friends, it's no secret that we have faced many challenges in this campaign," McCain told supporters in an e-mail. "But I continue to do my best to make you proud by standing on principle and doing the tough things necessary to make our nation proud and strong -- it's the only way I know how."