Open Letter to Barack Obama: PLEASE Do Not Even Think About Hiring Mark McKinnon

[McCamy Taylor]

It sounds tempting. Media consultant and political strategist Mark McKinnon, who used to be a Democrat and who worked for such Texans as Ann Richards before becoming enamored of George W. Bush's political charms, has decided that he will quit the John McCain campaign if Obama is the nominee and go back to being a Democrat. He says he is just enthralled with Obama, like he was with W.

There is just one problem with McKinnon. Back in 2000, Bush debate material was mailed out of his office to Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore. Al Gore's campaign immediately turned over the material to the FBI which investigated and found footage of a McKinnon aid, Yvette Lozano mailing the package. She later pled guilty to mailing the material on her own.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998233,00.html?promoid=googlep

As long as there is the possibility that Ms. Lozano acted in conjunction with McKinnon and others (such as Karl Rove who is notorious for his dirty tricks) and if she agreed to take the fall for them, it is also possible that McKinnon is Karl Rove's man until the end of time--since Karl Rove could destroy him simply by persuading Ms. Lozano to change her testimony. And we know how persuasive Karl Rove is.

Maybe he had nothing to do with it and there is no blackmail risk, but who would want to take the chance that they are inviting a Rove mole into their organization during an election which Karl Rove desperately wants to win? Roves wants to win to prove that 2006 was a fluke and also to make sure that his boss can get a pardon in case anyone decides to pursue criminal charges once he is out of office.

As if that isn't enough to make McKinnon seem like less than an ideal addition to the Campaign of Hope, read this testimonial from James Moore, veteran of Texas politics

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/a-texas-turncoat-casts-hi_b_86945.html

Mark McKinnon is once more practicing his dark craft of surfing the political zeitgeist to land on the shores of fame and prosperity. Perhaps the most opportunistic political consultant in the modern era, McKinnon makes Karl Rove appear to be a principled man. He has gone from progressive Democrat to Bush confidante to McCain advisor and now has his nose pressed to the glass looking in on the Obama campaign.

snip

McKinnon and Bush hooked up and the former Democrat rationalized it away by saying he was "a Bush guy" and not really a Republican. As the candidate's, and then the president's media advisor, McKinnon made the ads that trashed John McCain in South Carolina and beyond in 2000. Of course, that didn't preclude him from becoming the media advisor and TV producer for John McCain's 2008 presidential run. Ambition always trumps politics and principle for McKinnon.

snip

As for McKinnon, it just means he's still good at jumping from losing horse to the winner. Voters ought to heed this charlatan's words. McKinnon isn't the least bit concerned about harming Obama with attack ads; he knows that McCain cannot beat the Illinois Democrat and he hopes that if he quits McCain that Obama's people will hire him and he will be a Democrat again and back on a front-running horse.

There is no room on the Obama team for someone who specializes in attacks and smears like those W. ran against McCain. And if he comes offering to share McCain's secret strategies--well that would prove that he is just plain dishonest.

[RummyTheDummy]

1. The Obama team is set

And don't get enough credit IMO. Axelrod and Co. has out flanked Penn and Co. at every turn.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. They have been brilliant. Extremely disciplined, and they also are patient. This campaign

will be studied in political science courses for decades.

I've never seen anything like it.

[McCamy Taylor]

3. I like to think that McCain is really planning to fire McKinnon and he

is letting him quit so it will look nicer for McKinnon. Who would want the guy who ran the So. Carolina ads doing dirty ads against Obama when he is trying to run as a war hero maverick who is too pure to engage in sleazy politics?

[MagickMuffin]

4. I really don't think the Obama campaign would hire him, I mean why should they

They seem to be doing just fine without having sleaze attached to it.

Sorry Markie, you are always going to be in the Bushes.

But just in case, we could keep emailing Obama not to hire this sleaze bag. Who needs him???