Posted on 12/21/2004 7:44:45 AM PST by presidio9
Conservatives continue to feast on Rudy Giuliani's misery.
As Rudy begins to distance himself from the ethically challenged, briefly nominated Homeland Security chief wanna-be Bernard Kerik, some right-wing hardliners claim White House strategist Karl Rove devised the Kerik debacle to hurt Giuliani's presidential chances in '08.
"Rove used Rudy and Kerik to tout Bush as the anti-terrorism candidate," says one Republican party player. "But Rudy is too socially liberal for the true-believers. So they let him shoot himself in the foot. Rove knew about Kerik's baggage - and that he could never be confirmed. But he went along with the nomination, betting that the heat would come down on Rudy, which it has."
A White House spokesman didn't return a call for comment on the conspiracy theory. But other party observers disagree that Bush wasn't damaged by Kerik.
"It may even have hurt the appointment of Alberto Gonzales [for attorney general], as Democratic senators are going to question his vetting process, too," says a source.
While some think Giuliani could still be a contender in four years, others believe Rove and Bush have one man in mind for the Oval Office: brother Jeb Bush.
"They're saying, 'We own the party now,'" says one source, "and we're not going to give it away."
This is more leftist black-helicopter with Karl Rove flying it crap.
This is too much for me. Jeb has repeatedly said he is not interested. Rove is smart enough to know that Jeb would have a VERY hard time winning in 2008. IF the Republican nominee loses in 2008, I would look for Jeb to run in 2012. But, if the '08 nominee wins, the next time you'll have a Bush running for the highest office in the land will be 2024 when the nation will be singing the praises of "P for President!"
Jeb is not running. If he does, it won't be right after W. He would at least go the RFK route and wait 8 years.
Tin foil hat time for the evil genius again.
Karl Rove is the bogeyman for everything it seems. The fact is, Rudy put the guy up and Rudy made the mistake because he clearly knew of the "baggage" himself. Rudy really stepped in doo-doo and although it didn't totally ruin his chances for 2008 it has made it that one more "ethical" misstep will do him in as it will then be played as a pattern.
What a crock. I've reached the conclusion that Democrats will never be able to remove their head from their buttholes.
OF course any conservative wouldn't want a rockefeller republican to win a primary in 2008. Taking them out now simply reduces any massiness that may happen down the line. Rove is fighting for the Owens-Pawlenty-Sanford candidate by puttign liberal republican candidates like Rudy-Pataki-Romney in their place.
Yeah, that sounds just like George W. Bush and the eeeeeevil Karl Rove.
Not.
Exactly. Jeb is the "spare tire".
I actually like Jeb better than his brother, and would love to see this country finally have a true Catholic president. But the idea of three Bush presidencies in 20 years is more than a bit creepy.
If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend this year's Barneycam..
So now it's Karl Rove's fault somehow that Rudy Giuliani is a dunce - or worse?
We all know what happens when we give character in our leader a pass - CLINTON and his ilk.
Rudy stepped in it when he cheated on his wife. I don't want someone with that big a character flaw running this country ever again. If a man/woman can betray his/her wife/husband and family for a cheap and tawdry relationship then betraying his/her country wouldn't be that big an obstacle.
I thought he had upgraded to a flying saucer built by Diebold.
Rove is such a genius, he persuaded Rudy to hire Kerik ten or fifteen years ago, or whenever it was, and he carefully monitored their growing relationship. He knew that Kerik would hire an illegal alien and have an affair in a secret love nest near Ground Zero, years before Kerik did it. In fact, he introduced Kerik to his mistress through one of his trusted proxies.
That's the only way you can explain what happened.
What does that matter? Supporting Jeb because he is Catholic is no better than all the people who worked against Kennedy in 1960 because he was Catholic.
Whomever it is I support in 2008, I will be supporting them because of their views on issues, not because of whatever church they worship at. Personally, right now I'm leaning towards Mitt Romney. Mitt is Mormon, I am Southern Baptist. The two really aren't that closely akin, but he seems to be right on all the issues.
'...true Catholic president...'
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