Karl' Rove's world

mercury news ^ | 10/10/04

[knak]

The Bush-Cheney campaign and the Republican National Committee are populated by skilled operatives who occupy time on cable television. They are the face of the campaign, but insiders know who's really in charge.

That man is Karl Rove. As George W. Bush seeks re-election in a squeaker of a presidential race, Rove is the architect in every sense. The man who recruited Bush to run for governor. The man who directed his election as president in 2000. And now, the man the president is relying on to win a second term in the White House.

[soccer4life]

Rove is a genius.

[no dems]

Yes, he is a political genius and I hope he has a genius of an October surprise.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Rove without an october surprise?

Oh, the humor is killing me... :o)

[penowa]

Sorry, but I can't buy that "Rove is a genius." One of the worst run campaigns I ever saw was Thornburgh-Wofford for PA senate. Thornburgh was a popular former 2 term governor and the campaign he ran was so terrible that apparently Rove had to sue Thornburgh to get paid! Thornburgh started out ahead by about 25 pts. and lost by a good margin. Wofford was an old college professor nobody ever heard of that Casey appointed to finish the term when Heinz was killed. I just hope that Rove has learned a lot in a little over 10 yrs. because he's going to need it this year.

[listenhillary]

The Swift Boat Veterans' accusations have been largely discredited, including the accusation that Kerry did not deserve his Vietnam medals.

Discredited where, when and by who?

[Unam Sanctam]

But it does mean that whenever the president decided to oust Saddam Hussein, Rove was there -- as he always is -- advising the president on the political implications of his policy.

So what? Every president is going to have a political advisor do this. So long as it is not the last word in policy (and I think that Clinton was much more driven by polls rather than principle than Bush is), then I don't see anything wrong with it.

[Aetius]

Also, Bush barely won last time. It was a legitimate win no matter what those fanatics on the Left say, but still it was an uncomfortably close win.

Ending the Dem dominance of Texas was impressive, but it was simply Texas following the demographic trends of other Southern states where whites began to finally see how far left the Dems had gone so they started voting overwhelmingly for the GOP.

Interestingly, that demographic trend will likely soon be undone in Texas by unending mass legal and illegal immigration -- both of which Rove is a champion of. When Texas Hispanics' share of the electorate catches up with their share of the population then the GOP will lose their new-found dominance in the state. Then Rove will not be known as a genius, but rather as someone who foolishly thought he could out-pander the Dems for the support of a group naturally inclined to support the Dems.

[GSlob]

Somehow I see the RATs motivated by base envy. What do they have? Carville?

[paragon27x]

I heartily agree. That article would lead the unwashed to believe that Rove is a one man global Star Chamber. Robert Ludlum is smiling, wherever he is.

[peyton randolph]

When Texas Hispanics' share of the electorate catches up with their share of the population then the GOP will lose their new-found dominance in the state.

This will take some time. In Dallas, they have the 3-2-1 view in campaigns. You have the same voter turnout from 300 hispanics as 200 blacks or 100 caucasian non-hispanics. From a socioeconomic standpoint, the hispanics are on par with the local black population, but they don't have the same voting power given the number who are noncitizen immigrants. This is why there is a nonhispanic caucasian mayor for the city despite the ethnic mix.

[Aetius]

I hope it does take some time. I also hope that the Texas GOP can continue winning 70%+ of the white vote. I mean, obviously outreach to others should continue, but the GOP shouldn't lose sight of why they rule in Texas.