Stone-cold hatchet man

Roger Stone is waiting to become Barack Obama's worst nightmare. He is a political consultant who cut his teeth working for Ronald Reagan and has since become the face of American political thuggery. He is the go-to guy when all else fails and only the real dirt can save the day.

It is an almost invisible face these days. A candidate, he says, must have a "cut-out" so that the really nasty stuff destroys the opposition without blow-back.

He awaits the call on behalf of Republican John McCain. His advice: "The only way he can beat Obama is by running a slash-and-burn campaign." He offered some pointers to the New Yorker magazine: "Obama and his wife are elitists and weak. They don't share middle-class values.