In our October 17 story on the worst hacks in the Bush administration, we reported on Bush crony Mark McKinnon, a former Democratic strategist who mysteriously converted to wholesale W-worship in the late 1990s ("Welcome to the Hackocracy," October 17). Bush recently nominated McKinnon for a Democratic slot on the Broadcasting Board of Governors. But, apparently, the embarrassment of attempting to fill one of four seats reserved for Democrats with a man whose company "accepted over $177 million in fees from Bush and the Republican National Committee" for the 2004 campaign became too much: On Monday, the administration withdrew McKinnon's nomination to replace Democrat Joaquin Blaya and renominated him for a Republican seat, formalizing his GOP credentials. Six years ago, when he was the media consultant for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, McKinnon told The New York Times that he reckoned a major message of Bush's was that "it's not enough for our wallets to be full if our hearts are empty." It seems McKinnon has finally had to learn his boss's big lesson. (Excerpt from The New Republic).

A SLIGHTED HACK: There was a vital omission in our list counting down the Bush administration's most egregious hacks : Ellen Sauerbrey, an arch-conservative who twice ran unsuccessfully for governor of Maryland, is poised to head the State department's refugee program. She claims that she has one piece of vital experience that will enable her to run the $1 billion program. Sauerbrey once managed the U.S. Census in three Maryland counties. It was bad enough that the Bush administration hacks botched the American refugee crisis following Katrina. Now, they get to bring their patented ineptitude to the world. (Excerpt from The New Republic)