Tumulty spent 14 years with the Los Angeles Times, covering the US Congress, economics, business, energy, and general-assignment beats.

Tumulty wrote that the ad displayed "sinister images of two black men, followed by one of a vulnerable-looking elderly white woman.

"[6] The McCain campaign pointed out that they had also produced an ad criticizing the connections of Barack Obama to Jim Johnson, another former Fannie Mae CEO who is white.

"[7] In 2010, Tumulty joined The Washington Post, where she received the 2013 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.

[15] Admiral William H. McRaven, her fifth grade classmate and commander of USSOCOM, was her guest at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

[16] Adm. McRaven commanded JSOC when it planned and carried out Operation Neptune Spear, the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden.