Mark Salter (born 1955) is an American speechwriter from Davenport, Iowa, known for his collaborations with United States Senator John McCain on several nonfiction books as well as on political speeches. Salter also served as McCain's chief of staff for a while, although he had left that position by 2008. Salter has often been referred to as McCain's "alter ego". Early life Salter grew up in Davenport, Iowa. There he attended Roman Catholic parochial schools. Salter had a wandering upbringing and early adulthood, not settling down, working on railroad track maintenance in Iowa for four years and playing in a music group. Salter first entered politics as a speech writer for U.S. Ambassador to the UN Jeane Kirkpatrick. He later attended Georgetown University. Work with John McCain Salter first began working for McCain following a chance encounter at the 1988 Republican National Convention. During the John McCain presidential campaign, 2008 the Wall Street Journal wrote that "When it comes to Sen. McCain's image, Mr. Salter, 53 years old, is the campaign's chief creator, shaper and enforcer. For two decades, he has been the presumed Republican nominee's speechwriter, adviser and confidant." He almost left the campaign in mid-2007, when it suffered a collapse and there were many personnel shake-ups. During the latter stages of the campaign Salter frequently criticised media treatment of the candidate, which he said was consistently tilted in his rivals' favor. Some observers have credited McCain's public servant persona as a literary project due to Salter's efforts. Of their writing process, Salter said in 2008: "It's his voice, but I'm going inside his head to speak some psychological truth about him. I'm drawing a conclusion based on my observation of him. I always show him: 'This is what I've written. This is what I think about you. Is this fair?' " Observers of the two have likened their sharing to that of a Vulcan mind meld. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he was named by Politico as a possible pick for White House Chief of Staff, should John McCain win the election against Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Howard Fineman wrote in a 2008 Newsweek article: "McCain and Salter are stylistically similar and share a world view: they like to operate in intimate settings, with a loyal band of brothers, a clear enemy in sight and an almost joyful fatalism in the face of long odds." He compared Salter's