Doug Goodyear, CEO of the Washington-based DCI Group public relations firm, has not been an active political player in recent years. He ran the disastrous 1988 U.S. Senate campaign in New Jersey for Gen. Pete Dawkins, who lost to Democrat Frank Lautenberg.
Manafort has been a major operative at every Republican National Convention, starting as an aide for President Gerald Ford in 1976. He is a lobbying partner of McCain national campaign manager Rick Davis, but McCain does not want to hire a heavy contingent of lobbyists to give Barack Obama an easy target. Manafort also is in disfavor at the State Department for representing the pro-Russian former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
PAUL STILL RUNNING
Not only has Rep. Ron Paul's ongoing presidential candidacy continued to record a substantial vote against John McCain in primary elections, but Paul advocates also forced an unprepared Nevada Republican Party establishment to abruptly adjourn last month's state convention in Reno selecting delegates to the national convention. The meeting has not yet been reconvened.
With a majority at the state convention supporting Paul, several national convention delegates pledged to the insurgent candidate were ready to be elected. State Sen. Bob Beers, the state convention chairman, abruptly adjourned the session. He later explained, "We were overtime on our contract for our convention space" and "were paying our stagehands and audio-video technicians overtime."
A footnote: Paul has made clear on several occasions there is no chance that he ever will endorse McCain for president.