One of the big tactical gains for the presidential campaign of John McCain was when he hired former George Bush media strategist Mark McKinnon as his press-wrangler-in-chief. Even his bitterest foes respect the Austin-based seasoned campaigner’s skill in getting positive coverage, assembling an unmatched team of experts, and (toughest of all) keeping the candidate on-message. Completely coincidentally, what with the Texas primary coming up, the campaign guru (and self-confessed failed song-writer) is booked to present the opening lecture of Texas State University-San Marcos’ 20th annual Communication Week next Monday.
But several media outlets have picked up on an old interview McKinnon gave Window on Washington last June in which he said he would withdraw from working in the general election if Barack Obama got the Democratic nomination. While he said he disagreed with Obama on many issues, he praised him as a person and said, “if he were elected, I think it would send a great message to the country and the world.”
In his role as sometime lecturer in modern American political campaigning at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, McKinnon warned about the problems of changing staff mid-campaign.
This article appears in February 15 • 2008.
