A refreshing perspective on the primary race -- particularly as loyalties shift and realign as Barack Obama's chances look brighter and brighter. O'Connor writes a revealing piece about the world of political spin, specifically how Mark McKinnon for whom O'Connor writes "politics is first and foremost about winning — and McKinnon’s candidates win" -- now chooses to back away from negative campaigning against Barack Obama out of respect for the candidate. Fascinating read.

This story is a profile which is about 90% positive of the subject, McKinnon. There are a couple of unsourced negative comments which are broad and nondescript. To my thinking, it leaves a good many holes: How can such a "good" guy participate in some of the most blatant and gross violations of fair play we have seen over the past 3 elections? The story doesn't begin to answer this nor does it explain much of the specifics of his admittedly critical role in these elections. To me, ... More »

His many critics now contend that, far from “evolving,” McKinnon is just an opportunistic turncoat, a lustful chameleon, a bizarre sellout… and worse. The article manages to make him sound charming. Perhaps the lesson is to beware of charm without substance, especially if you fall in love with George Bush.