Facing growing dissatisfaction inside and outside his presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain ordered a shake-up of his team Wednesday, reducing the role of campaign manager Rick Davis and vesting political adviser Steve Schmidt with "full operational control" of his bid for the presidency.

The abrupt shift in leadership, announced to McCain's staff Wednesday morning, came after weeks of complaints from Republicans outside the campaign and growing concerns within it about the lack of a clear message, the cumbersome decision-making process, the sloppy staging of events and a schedule driven largely by fundraising priorities rather than political necessity.

"There's not a cogent message," one Republican strategist who declined to be identified in order to offer a more candid assessment said Wednesday. "They've been attacking Obama every day, but it doesn't tie back to an overarching theme that McCain believes in."

Also, one former McCain adviser who is no longer with the campaign said, "They've been playing this ripped-from-the-headlines game. Whatever is hot or interesting for the day is what they've been talking about."