How Philly Mag Editor Larry Platt Didn't Run For Congress

Philadelphia Magazine editor Larry Platt uses 5,857 words in GQ to describe the odyssey that was his aborted Democratic run for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District last year.  It's a fascinating behind-the-scenes look that doubles as a dead-on profile of political consultant Neil Oxman.  And the tale hits the political trifecta:  Bill Clinton horndogging his way through an event, a shady unnamed attorney fishing for campaign contribution quid pro quo and shocking revelations about the would-be candidate [from his own opposition researcher].

Here's how Platt launches the story:  Last fall, I was called to serve. I was recruited to run for congress in Pennsylvania's prized sixth district, the suburbs of Philly. I accepted. I met Bill Clinton. I talked strategy with Steny Hoyer. I hitched myself to a grizzled, street-fighting campaign manager, asked all my friends for money, and came clean on the skeletons in my closet. And then I decided I couldn't go through with it.

The GQ article is online here.  We first caught wind of it on Philebrity, which posted on the subject here.