Character Analysis
Sid Vole…a.k.a. the Spin Doctor...a.k.a. the uncle with the ulcer. Adam Pulver convinces G.T. that his uncle Sid would be the perfect campaign manager. Sid has a reputation for making winners out of losers and is rather intrigued by the dirty political battle occurring in Mulhoney.
Sid initially thinks that G.T.'s cancer could be "a fresh angle" for the campaign (voters sense that G.T. can "feel their pain") but quickly recognizes the flaw in his logic:
"The problem is dying. I guess that's always the problem." (64)
Instead, he tells G.T. "to stay above the fray. Be Mr. Clean" (64), but to never lose sight of the fact that politics is war, and one way to win it is to unearth Mayor Millstone's weakest point and remind the voters about it (65). Is your head spinning yet? If so, you've just been treated by the spin doctor.