Every time the Democratic consultant Steve McMahon comes up, I always mention that he's the biggest asshole I've ever met in politics (and I've actually met Joe Lieberman). I met the asshole during my brief stint consulting for the Dean presidential campaign, and it was clear from the first second I interacted with him that he was a sleazy fuck.
People inevitably ask, "what makes him an asshole?" I've generally avoided an answer. Yeah, there's a backstory, but it's not that exciting. Yeah, there are rumors about his whorishness, but I don't have the wherewithal to investigate them. I don't need confirmation of his assholishmess, because his very essence oozes shit.
And while that may not be strong evidence backing my disgust for the guy, this is:
[BP] declined to say how much it is spending on the [advertising] effort. It has suspended all of its regular corporate advertising, and is using its ad budget to address the oil spill and the resulting environmental crisis. Last year, BP shelled out almost $100 million on ad time and space in the U.S., according to an ad-tracking unit of WPP PLC.
BP bypassed its longtime ad agency, WPP's Ogilvy & Mather, to create the new television ads, enlisting Purple Strategies, a Washington public-affairs firm that is owned by Republican strategist Alex Castellanos and Democratic consultant Steve McMahon, according to a person familiar with the matter.
I rest my case.