Anonymous No More

"Senate Democrats today called for a special prosecutor to investigate perjury charges against Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales and subpoenaed White House political strategist Karl Rove and a top aide to testify about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys."

I was also toiling away yesterday on the latest McCain staff shakeup, which was of particular interest to me because I wrote about media man Russ Schriefer as part of The Post's series "The Gurus." Now he's out. I'm thinking of starting a new series called "The Ex-Gurus."

Here's the latest:

When he was the media czar for President Bush's 2004 campaign, Mark McKinnon spent the year orchestrating a $150 million advertising blitz deemed crucial to the president's reelection.

Now, as a volunteer left in charge of the remnants of Sen. John McCain's media operation, McKinnon says television commercials are not so important.

"I frankly don't think John McCain needs that much paid media," he said yesterday. "He is a well-regarded American hero whose story is pretty well known. This is a game of survival, and John McCain is a survivor."

McKinnon's comments came after Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens quit their jobs as media consultants for the Arizona Republican's presidential campaign. McCain's communications director, Jill Hazelbaker, said the parting was "amicable" and "unrelated to the management change" when the senator replaced his campaign manager and laid off part of his staff as anemic fundraising left him with little in the bank.

"This certainly isn't the way we hoped it would turn out," said Schriefer, who was recruited by McKinnon after they worked together in both Bush campaigns. But with the lack of resources, he said, "it's a very different kind of campaign than was planned six months ago," and, "after thinking it over, it seemed like a good time to part ways."

McKinnon, who will continue to work with California ad-maker Fred Davis, said that "while I expect John McCain will probably run some media, it probably won't be much and it will probably be late" in the season.

Demonstrating his ability to craft a positive narrative, McKinnon said of McCain: "In many ways, I think what he's just gone through in the campaign makes his story even more compelling. People are rooting for him to come back."

Mitt bobbles a Web question, as the Chicago Tribune reports:

"Romney showed some unfamiliarity with the Internet when he discussed the problem of sexual predators and children.