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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder - Marc Ambinder is the White House correspondent for National Journal and a contributing editor at The Atlantic. More

Marc Ambinder is the White House correspondent for National Journal. He previously served as the politics editor, and is now a contributing editor, for The Atlantic, where he curated the influential Politics channel on TheAtlantic.com and contributed to the magazine. He was also a chief political consultant to CBS News. Earlier, at NJ's Hotline, Ambinder was the founding editor of "Hotline On Call," a pathbreaking political news blog. He also worked as a producer and reporter for the ABC News Political Unit and was one of the founders of ABC's "The Note." Born in New York City, raised in Central Florida, Ambinder is a 2001 graduate of Harvard and lives in Washington, D.C.

All Fred's men (and Women)

By Marc Ambinder
Jul 27 2007, 10:40 AM ET Comment

Chris Cillizza wrote about, and now you can see it -- after the jump, the full list of Fred Thompson staffers and ... recent staffers as compiled by a rival campaign.

THOMPSON STAFF HIRES (Through 7/25/07)



Spencer Abraham As Co-Campaign Manager. (Libby Quaid, “Thompson Shakes Up Staff,” The Associated Press, 7/24/07)


Randy Enwright As Co-Campaign Manager. (Libby Quaid, “Thompson Shakes Up Staff,” The Associated Press, 7/24/07)


Previously, It Was Reported That Enwright Would Be Political Director For Thompson’s Campaign. “Randy Enwright, a Republican political consultant from Florida with ties to the Iowa presidential battleground, has been tapped as political director of Fred Thompson's forthcoming presidential campaign.” (Bob Novak, “Valerie Plame’s Testimony,” RealClearPolitics.com, 7/14/07, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/valerie_plames_testimony.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Ken Reitz As Advisor. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Michael Toner As General Counsel. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


McLaughlin Associates (John And Jim McLaughlin) As Pollsters. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Nelson Warfield As Advisor. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Direct Mail Firm HSP Direct. “In a new sign that Fred Thompson is readying a full-on campaign launch, he's chosen a direct mail fundraising firm, HSP Direct, which is well wired into conservative circuits. HSP Direct -- Hogan, Schenk and Paul, Inc -- is based in Virginia.” (Marc Ambinder, “Thompson Hires A Direct Mail Firm: HSP,” “The Atlantic Online’s Blog,” 7/20/07, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/07/thompson_hires_a_direct_mail_f.php, Accessed 7/23/07)


Thomas D. Bell Jr. As National Finance Chair. “Thomas D. Bell Jr., an Atlanta based commercial real estate heavyweight, has been tabbed by the Fred Thompson for President ‘campaign’ to serve as national finance chair, according to NashvillePost.com sources.” (Ken Whitehouse, “Sources: Atlanta Biz Leader To Head Fundraising For Thompson,” Nashville Post, 7/24/07)


Dorinda Moss As Finance Director. (Sam Youngman, “Thompson Invading Romney’s Backyard,” The Hill, 7/18/07)


Andrew Dorr As Midwest Political Director. “Thompson has signed Andrew Dorr to serve as his Midwest political director should the actor and Tennessee Republican run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.” (Thomas Beaumont, “Hire Puts Run Closer For Fred Thompson,” Des Moines Register, 6/26/07)


Andy Palmer As Florida State Director. (Jonathan Martin, “Fred’s Man In Florida,” The Politico’s “Jonathan Martin Blog,” 7/23/07, http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/, Accessed 7/24/07)


Bill Wichterman To “Coordinate His Outreach To Religious Groups And Social Conservatives.” (Michael D. Shear, “Abortion Questions Fail To Dim Thompson’s Conservative Luster,” The Washington Post, 7/21/07)


Joseph Cella To “Handle Social Conservative Outreach.” “The former senator has brought on Joseph Cella to handle social conservative outreach and J.T. Mastranadi to serve as research director, a source close to Thompson confirms. Both are rooted in different lines of the conservative movement family.” (Jonathan Martin, “Thompson Continues To Staff Up,” The Politico’s “Jonathan Martin Blog,” 7/15/07, http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0707/Thompson_continues_to_staff_up.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Joel McElhannon Is “Headed To Nashville To Take A Senior Role In Thompson’s Campaign.” (Marc Ambinder, “Thompson Hires A Direct Mail Firm: HSP,” “The Atlantic Online’s Blog,” 7/20/07, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/07/thompson_hires_a_direct_mail_f.php, Accessed 7/23/07)


Linda Schoumacher Rozett As Communications Director. “A Thompson source disclosed to The Politico that the communications director will be Linda Schoumacher Rozett, a former journalist who has been vice president of communications for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Rozett’s role will be largely behind the scenes, and the Thompson team plans to hire another communicator to be ‘the face of the campaign,’ the source said.” (Mike Allen, “Thompson Delays Filing, Campaign Ramps Up,” The Politico, 7/16/07, http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=C55C3E33-3048-5C12-00191EEC3209A35A, Accessed 7/23/07)


Burson Taylor Snyder As Press Aide. “Day-to-day media contacts will be handled by Burson Taylor Snyder, a Capitol Hill veteran who was communications director for House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri.” (Mike Allen, “Thompson Delays Filing, Campaign Ramps Up,” The Politico, 7/16/07, http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=C55C3E33-3048-5C12-00191EEC3209A35A, Accessed 7/23/07)


Robert Traynham As Senior Communications Advisor. (Marc Ambinder, “Robert Traynham Joins Team Thompson,” The Atlantic’s “Marc Ambinder” Blog, 6/27/07, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/06/robert_traynham_joins_team_tho.php, Accessed 7/23/07)


Tim Griffin As Communications And Message Advisor. “Here’s an interesting addition to the growing, un-revealed, unofficial presidential campaign of Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson: J. Timothy Griffin, the former RNC research whiz and Army JAG prosecutor who served, briefly, as a U.S. Attorney in the second district in Arkansas. … Griffin is advising Thompson on communications and message and will probably be a consultant to Thompson’s presidential campaign.” (Marc Ambinder, “Fred Thompson Obtains The Services Of Tim Griffin,” The Atlantic’s “Marc Ambinder” Blog, 6/6/07, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/06/fred_thompson_obtains_the_serv.php, Accessed 7/23/07)


Mike Turk As “Chief Architect” Of Website And eCampaign. “Thompson spokesperson Mark Corallo confirmed what the Politico reported earlier this week, that former Bush Cheney '04 eDirector Mike Turk will serve as the ‘chief architect’ in Thompson's Web site and online operation.” (Shira Toeplitz, “Who’s With Fred? A Look At Thompson’s Web Team,” Hotline On Call, 6/6/07, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/06/post_217.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Blaise Hazelwood As Part Of eCampaign Team. “Blaise Hazelwood of iWebStrategies, said she'll be working under Turk's direction on the Web site and blog in an effort that "is going to be different from any other Republican or Democrat site that's out there right now." Hazelwood was Political Director at the RNC in both 2000 and 2004 during the construction of the Voter Vault.”(Shira Toeplitz, “Who’s With Fred? A Look At Thompson’s Web Team,” Hotline On Call, 6/6/07, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/06/post_217.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Ken Smith As Part Of eCampaign Team. “Hazelwood will work closely with Ken Smith, chief strategist for Episode 49 and Todd Zeigler of the Bivings Group. Smith's firm does programming development and builds databases and his Web sites' client list includes the RNC and NRSC. A former intern for Thompson, Zeigler said his firm will do some design, strategy and build tools for the Web site. (Shira Toeplitz, “Who’s With Fred? A Look At Thompson’s Web Team,” Hotline On Call, 6/6/07, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/06/post_217.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Todd Zeigler As Part Of eCamapaign Team. “Hazelwood will work closely with Ken Smith, chief strategist for Episode 49 and Todd Zeigler of the Bivings Group. Smith's firm does programming development and builds databases and his Web sites' client list includes the RNC and NRSC. A former intern for Thompson, Zeigler said his firm will do some design, strategy and build tools for the Web site. (Shira Toeplitz, “Who’s With Fred? A Look At Thompson’s Web Team,” Hotline On Call, 6/6/07, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/06/post_217.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Dan Hopkins As Part Of eCampaign Team. “Dan Hopkins of Segmented Media said his firm will do the back-end technological development, including designing and building the Web site.” (Shira Toeplitz, “Who’s With Fred? A Look At Thompson’s Web Team,” Hotline On Call, 6/6/07, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/06/post_217.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Jon Henke As New-Media Consultant. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Pete Snyder And New Media Strategies For Web Outreach And “Online Intelligence.” “New Media Strategies will do Web 2.0 outreach and online intelligence, overseen by CEO Pete Snyder.”(Shira Toeplitz, “Who’s With Fred? A Look At Thompson’s Web Team,” Hotline On Call, 6/6/07, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/06/post_217.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Lawrence Lindsey As Economic Policy Advisor. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Former Rep. David McIntosh As Domestic Policy Advisor. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Mark Esper As Foreign Policy Advisor. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Former Chief Speechwriter For Attorney General John Ashcroft, Ed McFadden As “Adviser.” (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07)


Richard Hertling Has Joined Thompson Campaign. “Thompson’s campaign team also added Richard Hertling, who recently left the Department of Justice as acting attorney general for legislative affairs. Hertling has a history with Thompson. During his tenure in the Senate, Hertling served as a press aide to Thompson.” (Kate Ackley, “A Blitz Is Coming,” Roll Call, 7/25/07)


Rich Galen As An Advisor. (Jonathan Martin, “The Other Will-He-Or-Won’t-He Candidate,” The Politico, 7/25/07, http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=FF7817BB-3048-5C12-00B8F0220EAF231C, Accessed 7/25/07)


THE DEMOTED/FIRED/RESIGNED LIST



Thomas Collamore From Campaign Manager To Advisor. (“Fred Thompson’s Presidential Campaign Staff,” Tennessean.com, 6/23/07, http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/NEWS0206/706230349/1016/NEWS02, Accessed 7/23/07; Libby Quaid, “Thompson Shakes Up Staff,” The Associated Press, 7/24/07)


Mark Corallo From Spokesman To Consultant/Advisor. “Mark Corallo of Corallo Comstock Inc. in Alexandria, Va., has been serving as Thompson’s spokesman, but may end up as a senior consultant to the campaign.” (Mike Allen, “Thompson Delays Filing, Campaign Ramps Up,” The Politico, 7/16/07, http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=C55C3E33-3048-5C12-00191EEC3209A35A, Accessed 7/23/07)


J.T. Mastranadi As Research Director. “The former senator has brought on Joseph Cella to handle social conservative outreach and J.T. Mastranadi to serve as research director, a source close to Thompson confirms. Both are rooted in different lines of the conservative movement family.” (Jonathan Martin, “Thompson Continues To Staff Up,” The Politico’s “Jonathan Martin Blog,” 7/15/07, http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0707/Thompson_continues_to_staff_up.html, Accessed 7/23/07)


Mastranadi Resigned Thompson Campaign On July 25. (Marc Ambinder, “Another Resignation From Team Thompson,” The Atlantic’s “Marc Ambinder” Blog, 7/25/07, Http://Marcambinder.Theatlantic.Com/Archives/2007/07/Another_Resignation_From_Team.Php, Accessed 7/25/07)
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