Top McCain fundraiser resigns

One of the McCain campaign's most important fundraisers resigned as national finance co-chair. Former Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, a Texan who is among the McCain campaign’s most important advisers, resigned over lobbying entanglements, a Republican source told Politico on Sunday.

Loeffler was part of the rescue mission for the campaign last year after its spending badly outstripped its fundraising, leading to a contraction of the campaign that left McCain running a bare-bones operation in the lead-up to his breakout New Hampshire primary victory.

Loeffler’s departure followed a report this weekend by Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff that Loeffler’s “lobbying firm has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions more from other foreign and corporate interests, including a French aerospace firm seeking Pentagon contracts.”

Apparently the "maverick" presidential candidate didn't want to look bad in the media... but he has no problems appearing with President Bush at a fundraiser in Phoenix on May 27th.