The inevitable happened. There was no way that any campaign — not even Trump’s — could keep such a tainted fixer on board, when we were learning more about his sleazy and disturbing connections to pro-Russian interests every day. It was telling that earlier this year he was either the only experienced operative that Trump could hire in a senior role, or the one that he was drawn to. Give Manafort his due: Even now — with the exception of Kellyanne Conway — he was probably the most clear-eyed professional the campaign had. His exit is presumably a net minus at the operational level for the campaign (assuming Trump still wanted to listen to him) — as long, of course, as you didn’t mind the taint of potential influence by corrupt foreign interests hostile to the United States.