Mark McKinnon
Mark McKinnon
Mark McKinnonis an American political advisor, reform advocate, media columnist and television producer. He was the chief media advisor to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns, and is a co-founder of No Labels, an organization dedicated to bipartisanship and political problem solving. He served as vice chairman of Public Strategies, Inc., which was acquired by the international communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton Strategies, and was president of Maverick Media. McKinnon is the co-creator, co-executive producer, and co-host of...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
CountryUnited States of America
Sarah Palin is brilliant. She is a media magnet and a media magnate. She creates headlines and draws crowds wherever she goes, whether it's 98 degrees in the desert of Arizona or below freezing in the snow of Wisconsin.
It doesn't matter if I go on CBS, PBS or Fox. Whoever is interviewing me is going to want to create some conflict in the story, or it's not interesting. That's just the way the news is.
The Newtown massacre created a tipping point on the gun debate in America.
The public will see that partisan axes are being ground.
I've never seen the president burdened by the presidency. He's built to deal with really big events. It's in his DNA.
Conventional wisdom may be upside-down. The economy is always an issue, but I think . . . it has to be viewed in different terms. The Gore camp will try to take credit for the economy. I don't think the voters see it that way.
Drone attacks subvert the rule of law - we become judge, jury, and executioner - at the push of a button.
Both campaigns did all they could do. I think both sides will say we both went out swinging and we didn't leave anything on the field.
There's no question the president's legacy will be dominated by Iraq. The war is really driving almost everything in government.
You adapt to the circumstances and the circumstances are different. I get zero sense of that. This is an administration and a president that are like the Marines -- they're used to taking the beach, they're used to getting shelled. But they dig in and they do their jobs.
I think Karl is right back in the middle of the picture, and will be for the foreseeable future.
You know, the Tea Party is a - first of all, it is a significant movement, and I think the media and some pundits have tried to write it off as a bunch of cranks or something. But, in fact, it's really a very legitimate and fairly significant swath of voters out there.
War is often about making the least-worst decision. The same could be said about politics. But the stakes are higher in war, when the commander-in-chief is called upon to defend the nation.
There are three opportunities that you have during a general election campaign where you can substantially move the needle of public opinion. One, is your convention speech; two, are the base; three, is the selection of your vice president.