Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has lost the air of inevitability he surely wanted his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination to project. McCain, the runner-up for the nomination in 2000, is trailing former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the polls, and his fundraising efforts have yet to set the world on fire.

So the McCain campaign is in something of a state of flux. Carla Eudy, McCain's longtime finance director, was replaced in late April, around the same time that Marlene Elwell, one of the senator's liaisons to the Christian right, left the campaign.

The news today is that Michael P. Dennehy, McCain's national political director, is the latest personnel change within the campaign. The Hotline reports that Dennehy has stepped down from his position and will no longer be with the campaign day to day in Washington, but will remain as a lead consultant in the early-primary states.

McCain's aides deny that this is part of a reshuffling; on the other hand, Dennehy's stated rationale for stepping down was that he wants to spend more time with his family. That may well be true, but it's frequently used as an excuse for a resignation that has nothing to do with family.