The Man Behind the Spin

The furor that greeted Alastair Campbell's resignation Friday gave some measure of the power and presence of Tony Blair's communications chief. His departure was not unexpected: there were strong rumors weeks ago that he would be leaving sometime this summer, and once Blair and spy chief John Scarlett had backed his claim that he had not "sexed up" the Iraq dossier, there was no reason for him to stay longer. Last week he offered no set departure date and his announced successor, a lively and at times suitably abrasive former Labour press aide named David Hill, was a safe, expected...