Who's Spinning Who in the U.S. Presidential Race [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee [3]'s media team is led by "Kirsten Fedewa, a long-time press adviser from Huckabee's days with the Republican governors' association ... and Alice Stewart, a glamorous Arkansas TV anchor," according to the Belfast Telegraph's rundown of candidate "spinmeisters." Mitt Romney [4]'s "press team leaders are ... quintessential DC insiders" like former Republican National Committee [5] staffer Matt Rhoades and Bush-Cheney 2004 [6] spokesman Kevin Madden. John McCain [7] lost his communications team last July, leaving "loyal New Hampshire staffer Jill Hazelbaker" in charge of media. (Hazelbaker was linked to "fake blog postings on a Democrats website" during a 2006 Senate campaign; she maintains her innocence.) On the Democratic side, Barack Obama [8]'s media team is led by David Axelrod [9], an "acknowledged genius in the marketing of a political 'personality'" with "particularly close ties to Hillary Clinton [10]." Howard Wolfson [11], a crisis management [12] specialist at the Glover Park Group [13], and Mandy Grunwald lead Clinton's famously combative media team. Clinton's campaign also includes Burson-Marsteller [14] CEO Mark Penn [15] and several Dewey Square Group [16] staffers, including Michael Whouley [17], notes Frank Rich in the New York Times [18].