Still more awful news for John McCain: Now one of his highest-profile supporters is publicly musing about ditching him -- and joining rival Fred Thompson, who hasn't even declared his candidacy yet. From Bloomberg News:

Bob Dole says his preferred presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, is fading and that his support is likely to be "picked up" by Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in September.

"My heart has always been with my good friend John McCain," said Dole, former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee. "But it's just not happening, the buzz is gone."

Ouch. Dole's interview comes as McCain lost yet another senior staff member today -- media consultant Fred Davis, who departed with this pithy explanation: "When there's not much media, there's not much need for media people."