Thanks to Karl Rove and his fellow disciplinarians, the number of Republicans willing to criticise President George W. Bush or his policies in public can usually be counted on one hand. But every now and then, someone breaks the code of omertà, thus qualifying for Observer's Profile in Courage award.

The latest winner is John Whitehead, the former top Goldman Sachs banker, deputy secretary of state in the Reagan administration and currently chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is responsible for rebuilding in New York after the September 11 attacks.