McCain Losing McKinnon

AIDE KEEPS OBAMA PLEDGE

McCain Losing McKinnon

Mark McKinnon, the lead media consultant for John McCain's Republican presidential bid, said Tuesday that he will honor a pledge he made last year not to work against Democrat Barack Obama in the fall campaign.

"I'll be transitioning, shifting position from linebacker to head cheerleader," said McKinnon, who said he will step down over the next few weeks. He will remain a "friend and fan" of the McCain campaign, he added.

McKinnon, a former Democrat, played a central role in George W. Bush's campaigns in 2000 and 2004. McKinnon was among the large contingent of Bush operatives to join McCain in late 2006 and early 2007 but was one of only a handful who stuck with the senator from Arizona after his campaign's implosion last summer.

Last June, McKinnon told Cox Newspapers that if Obama became the Democratic nominee, he would not play an active role in McCain's effort to defeat the senator from Illinois.

"I just don't want to work against an Obama candidacy," McKinnon told Cox. Electing Obama, he added, "would send a great message to the country and the world."

McKinnon is widely regarded as a trusted member of McCain's inner circle, and many within the campaign said that losing him would be a heavy blow.

The task of creating the ads and media strategy for the campaign will now fall to a trio of consultants -- Fred Davis, Chris Mottola and Mike Hudome -- known collectively as Foxhole Media. Hudome will head up that effort.

-- Chris Cillizza

CLINTON'S TALKATIVE HALF