The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza highlights the (presumed) race for the Republican nomination to face Robin Carnahan for Senate in 2010. In the piece he introduces information that Sarah Steelman is talking to campaign stratagists. He mentions by name former McCain advisor John Weaver.

Blunt was the first Republican in the race to replace Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R), who is retiring after three terms, but Steelman is almost certain to run and is in talks with top national party strategists, including John Weaver, who was a top campaign adviser to Sen. John McCain. (Steelman endorsed the Arizonan for president in 2000 and 2008.)

“Sarah Steelman is a breath of fresh air for our party,” Weaver said. “However I’m involved, I’m sure this conservative reformer will be the next senator from Missouri.”

My first reaction: “Who?”

Well, fortuantely for me (and the rest of you) Google is my friend. Here’s what we know about John Weaver:

• He was originally known as McCain’s Rove
• He once left the Republican party to work as a Democratic strategist
• He’s a big money consultant who hates big money (How exactly does that work?)
  
• He was behind the implementation of the GOP Toolbar (something that needs to be drastically expanded upon)
• He was fired from McCain’s 2008 campaign after, well bluntly, royally screwing things up
• He was originally thought to be the leak in the New York Times‘ Iseman-McCain affair scandal, something he vehemently denies
• Post-firing he was mostly noted for his disagreements with the campaign, especially the Celeb ad and the (in his mind) lack of quieting down the “mob mentality”

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think that bullet points number two and five speak highly of an individual who would be your head strategist. Leaving the party and then having the balls to say “our party” is a bit much. And if I was Steelman, I would take one look at the first half of McCain’s campaign and say no thanks to Weaver.