Spinners and Winners

An infusion of millions of dollars, unlike anything we have ever seen before may now be the single biggest force in American politics. Some of the players are well-known, such as conservative activist and former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business interest group long active in politics.

This year, there are new players on the scene, so-called SuperPACs, that, unlike candidates or political parties, can accept an unlimited amount of money. For many of these groups who gives and why is a tightly-guarded secret.

"We can see the money going in, but it is very hard to follow what the political favors out are," says Bill Allison of the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. "I think that is the most concerning thing about all of this money going into the political process."

There are at least two dozen individuals who have already given more than $1 million each to these groups -- almost all Republicans. Spinners and Winners tried to

Political Punch

The war in Afghanistan has faced mountainous hurdles, many of which, a new book reveals, originated not in the desert mountains of Kandahar or Helmand Province, but at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where Washington infighting reached a fevered pitch.

"We squandered the troop surge," says Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan, "because of this nasty bickering in Washington."

Much of the tension centered around Richard Holbrooke, the veteran diplomat appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in early 2009 to be the point man for Afghanistan policy. Holbrooke was brought in to try to forge a path toward peace talks with the Taliban, essentially ending a decade-long war. But he was undermined, says Chandrasekaran, by the White House and even members of his own team.

"They just didn't like him," says Chandrasekaran. "Senior members of President Obama's National Security Team just thought he had too big of an ego ... And

Politically Foul

An internship on Capitol Hill is a prestigious resume building block toward a powerful career, right? Congressional interns have the opportunity to walk the halls of power, watch democracy in action from a front row seat, and help shape legislation while working side by side with influential lawmakers. Right?

Well, sure. Or, you can make a cheesy video with your boss over this summer's answer to the "Macarena."

That's what the interns in Rep. Linda Sanchez did this summer — although to be fair her press secretary did tell us that the video was all shot at the end of business on a Friday afternoon. A lighthearted summer break.

Ok, fair enough. But nevertheless, we think the interns are going to look back on this video in about 10 years in cringe. Almost as much as Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel must be cringing when his high school yearbook photo surfaced online.

That's right, budding politicians. It's never too soon to start worrying about how you're going to live