Who is Mike McConnell?

Democrats say he's a Bush toady. He says he's a non-partisan technocrat. All I know is what I've read about him and my sense is that neither of these characterizations is really correct. On the matter of surveillance, Bush's interests and McConnell's interests happen to align--and as such he appears to be something like the intelligence community's very own Alberto Gonzales.

But that doesn't make it so. To me, his interests speak volumes about him. A technocrat would study our current intelligence gaps and capabilities and design smart, efficient ways to improve the field. McConnell, by contrast, acts like so many high-ranking officials in the Air Force or the insurance industry (or whatever) who are interested in securing projects that increase the power and reach of the X itself--who only consider the broader implications of their pet programs insofar as they've convinced themselves that what's best for X is also best for the country. In other words like a lobbyist. Not, as this article suggests, a lobbyist tasked with lobbying by the Bush administration, but a lobbyist who genuinely believes in the importance of a robust Intelligence Industry. McConnell is a spook for the sake of spooking and he does the things he does to enhance size and well-being of the spook community. That makes him no less of a menace than if he was just a run-of-the-mill crony. But it's an interesting characterological distinction.