One red pom-pom, one blue one

[LINK] He said he'd do it and he did. Mark McKinnon, McCain's media consultant, stated last year that if Obama were to become the Democratic nominee that he would resign. Here's what he says now:

'I'll be transitioning, shifting position from linebacker to head cheerleader,' said the always-colorful McKinnon. He added that he would continued to be a 'friend and fan' to the campaign.

The reason he gave was that he didn't want to go against Obama... he likes him too much. Here are snippets of a 2007 interview:

In a question-and-answer exchange with Cox Newspapers Washington Bureau, McKinnon said he’d vote for McCain over Obama, but “I just don’t want to work against an Obama candidacy” and that a President Obama “would send a great message to the country and the world.”
[...]
Q: Are you committed to working for and supporting McCain no matter who the Democratic nominee is?

McKinnon: If the Democratic nominee is Barack Obama, I will not work in the general election. I will, however, still support and vote for John McCain. I just don’t want to work against an Obama candidacy. I think a McCain vs. Obama race would be a great choice for the country.

Q: Have you decided to back Sen. Obama if he is the Democratic nominee?

McKinnon: Not if John McCain is the nominee. (McKinnon said it is “too hypothetical” to say whether he would vote for Obama over a GOP nominee other than McCain.)

Q: What is it about Obama that attracts you?

McKinnon: I don’t think Barack Obama needs the mirror of politics to reflect who is. I think he has deep character and good judgment. I also think he’s wrong on some fundamental issues. But, I believe he is honest and independent and if he were elected, I think it would send a great message to the country and the world. (McKinnon said Obama is “wrong on Iraq and pulling out troops too early.”)

Q: How does Obama’s race impact his chances of becoming president?

McKinnon: I think Obama’s race could actually make it more likely he could be president. I think Americans would vote for an African-American in a heartbeat. Had Colin Powell run, I think he would have been president.
[FULL TEXT]

This is a Bush-Cheney guy who did great damage to Kerry last time out. He said he'd love going after Hillary. From the transcript of National Journal On-Air interview this March:

Q: So you've said that you will leave the McCain campaign if Obama is the nominee. Does that still hold and why?

McKinnon: Yeah. Well, this goes back to a memo that I wrote to the campaign when I came aboard more than a year and a half ago, and I simply let them know that I had spent time with Obama and read his book and I like the guy. I think he has strong character and a fascinating life story, and I disagree with him fundamentally on issues like Iraq and trade and a number of others. But I just flashed forward to the improbable scenario, at that time seemingly improbable, that John McCain and Barack Obama might face off against one other. And I just told them at the time that I thought that I would be uncomfortable being on the front lines -- being as aggressive as you need to be in a presidential campaign -- and not only that I would be uncomfortable, but that it would be bad for the campaign, and that if that circumstance were to come to be, that I would just take a step to the sidelines and continue to support John McCain 100 percent and be No. 1 fan and cheerleader. But just kind of take myself out of the front lines.

Q: So you are still going to do that?

McKinnon: I'm a man of my word.

Q: And it's because, what, you don't want to run negative ads against Obama?

McKinnon: Yeah.

Q: Or is there also a concern on your part that you don't want to run ads against Obama, the first African-American candidate to have this kind of a chance? Is that a factor as well?

McKinnon: I suppose that is in part, but it's more just that I like and admire the guy. I've come to a point in my life where I think character is important. I think he has great character. Again, I think he's really wrong on fundamental issues, but yeah, I just don't want to -- you know, I kind of want to put my guns down. It's just a matter of degrees, and like I said, I don't think I'm the best person to have in that slot for the campaign. So it would just be better for me to step to the sidelines.

Q: So if Hillary Clinton were the nominee, you would stay, presumably. So give us a preview of how you would not hold back if she were the nominee. What would be the campaign that you'd run against her?

McKinnon: Well, you know, I think that fundamentally she represents an extension of the Clinton legacy, which this country is just tired of. They are tired of the Clinton-style politics, and we've seen it manifest itself over the course of this campaign. And I have a lot of Democratic friends who like and respect Senator Clinton, but they don't want another extension of the Clinton administration for another four or eight years. And again, on some fundamental issues I think there's a great departure between her and Senator McCain, so that's where it sits.

Q: So you would look forward to that campaign?

McKinnon: Yeah, sure. I would.

(OK, so the blue pom is just a little bitty one the size of a cat teaser)

Mark McKinnon profile
(duh, me. I did not even realize he was an Austinite)
McKinnon on SourceWatch