From July 2007 (link):

For the past decade, John Weaver had been Senator John McCain’s chief strategist, the man behind the whole Straight Talk barnstorming shtick that made the conservative Arizonan a media star. Then, after building ­McCain into an apparent shoo-in for the Republican nomination—a maverick savior for his party—he sank the campaign into debt and disarray, leading to his resignation last week.

From today (link):

John Weaver... said that Republicans must be careful not to allow their Democratic rivals to paint them all with the brush of (Rush Limbaugh). "The Democrats and the far left will do all they can to grab electoral turf," said Weaver. "And one sure way to do it is take some of the most controversial voices on the extreme right -- like Limbaugh and (Sarah Palin) -- and try to insist they speak for all members of the center/right movement."