The American Spectator

John Weaver , who recently signed on as a consultant with the Democratic National Committee and with Senate Majority Leader Daschle. Weaver had been a key consultant to John McCain during his presidential run, and oversaw polling on McCain issues like gun control, campaign finance reform, and a patients bill of rights. /p>

Weaver, who hails from Texas, has found himself locked out of most other Republican campaigns and issues lobbying and consulting because his backing of McCain angered Bush strategist Karl Rove and the Bush White House. “Weaver couldn’t get a foothold anywhere with potential clients knowing he had no access to senior Republicans,” says a senior Democratic House staffer, who is working with Weaver on advising House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt. “Now we have a guy who probably understands the Bush team’s mindset better than most of our other Democratic strategists.”

Weaver isn’t out of Republican politics altogether. He has kept McCain as a client, much to the dissatisfaction of Republican Senate leaders. Weaver will be consulting with McCain on campaign finance reform and patients bill of rights legislation, both issues on which McCain and Democrats generally agree.

According to a Senate leadership aide, Weaver has made it clear he’d love to get into a presidential campaign again. “This is an audition for him,” says the aide. “If things go well, perhaps Daschle or Gephardt would bring him in for ‘04.”