Posted on 10/27/2010 7:35:57 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
First came the criticism of O’Donnell on the night she won the primary, then came the knock on tea partiers for being unsophisticated, which earned him Rush’s ire. Now this.
Is he … trying to alienate grassroots conservatives? And if so, why?
“With all due candour, appearing on your own reality show on the Discovery Channel, I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of ‘that helps me see you in the Oval Office’,” Mr Rove told The Daily Telegraph in an interview.
He added that the promotional clip for Sarah Palin’s Alaska could be especially detrimental to any political campaign. It features the mother of five in the great outdoors saying: “I would rather be doing this than in some stuffy old political office.”…
Mr Rove was asked if the 46-year-old Mrs Palin, who is among the front-runners for the next Republican nomination, would be a wise choice if the party wanted to seize the White House from President Barack Obama. He replied: “You can make a plausible case for any of them on paper, but it is not going to be paper in 2011. It’s going to be blood, it’s going to be sweat and tears and it’s going to be hard effort.”…
“There are high standards that the American people have for it [the presidency] and they require a certain level of gravitas, and they want to look at the candidate and say ‘that candidate is doing things that gives me confidence that they are up to the most demanding job in the world’.”
His excuse for this will be that he’s just being honest, as he’s duty bound to be when he has his commentator hat on, but no one on either side gives Karl Rove that little credit strategically. If he thought there was advantage to be had here in ducking the question, I’m sure he would have done so. Three theories, then: (1) This is pure payback for Palin needling him on the night of O’Donnell’s victory, calling him a “good old boy” who’s part of the GOP establishment “machine.” (2) This is him trying to run down a formidable presidential contender so that his own candidate of choice in the primary will benefit. Who that candidate might be, I don’t know, and maybe Rove doesn’t know yet either. But Daniels is, of course, a Bush alum, and Rove had some very nice things to say about him just a few weeks ago. (3) This is a ploy to try to reorient Republicans who are leery about Palin back towards the “establishment” and away from the tea-party grassroots. It’s one thing for the average conservative joe to harbor doubts about her, but if a guy who helped get George Bush elected twice is hint-hinting that she’s disqualifying herself by doing this, it may goose the perception among undecideds that she’s unelectable.
Exit question: Isn’t the response to this simply that Palin plays by her own rules and is playing … pretty darned well right now? The reality show is unorthodox, but being authentic and unpretentious and outdoorsy have always been key to her appeal, and the show feeds all of that. No doubt Rove would have said three months ago that appearing on Maher’s show in the 90s meant that O’Donnell could never beat Mike Castle, and yet here we are. Voters turned viciously on the GOP in 2006 and 2008 and now they’re about to turn viciously on Democrats; they’re utterly exasperated with what they’re getting from Washington, in which case if there’s ever a moment to try something out-of-the-box, now would be it. High risk, but high reward too.
Update: The AP’s seen the first eight episodes of the show and has nice things to say.
Karl Rove, a misogynist? Say it ain’t so. LOL.
Karl Rove has given new importance to the mute button on my remote.
He is another DC insider who is becoming marginalized. They kick and scream all the way back to their room.
Rove is a pudgy and soft, inside-the-beltway country club elitist. He cares more about his place on the Washington cocktail party circuit than about anything else. He is the leader of the Meghan McCain/Lindsay Graham/Mort Kondrake wing of the Republican Party. He is disgusting and cowardly.
Well said - Sean is a waste of air time.
“I like Sean, but get sick of his catering to his RINO Buds!”
I have to agree with you on that, and add his leftist buds like Beckel to the list.
Conan the Barbarian.
# Mongol General: “What is best in life?”
Conan: “To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.”
All we need is for the infamous ‘Natural-born’ requirement to be removed or rendered meaningless and unenforceable. Just might happen.
Demolition Man - between Stallone and Bullock.
Lenina Huxley: I have, in fact, perused some newsreels in the Schwarzenegger Library, and the time that you took that car...
JohnSpartan: Hold it. The Schwarzenegger Library?
Lenina Huxley: Yes. The Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Wasn’t he an actor when you...?
JohnSpartan: Stop! He was President?
Lenina Huxley: Yes! Even though he was not born in this country, his popularity at the time caused the 61st Amendment which states...
JohnSpartan: I don’t wanna know. President...
Defending Rove against a true conservative like Sarah?
Very Sad....
Don’t get me wrong: I like Sean. He’s on our side. He disappoints with his inability or refusal to challenge the statist RINO’s.
What self respecting GOP establishment insider would be caught dead in a wilderness area for the pure pleasure of it? Sitting outside in the cold snow to look at wildlife? What kind of political elitist does that kind of thing?
Besides, Palin is Rove’s political enemy. Why would he have anything nice to say about her?
That was an odd mistake for me, to mix up Bush and Quayle on the word ‘gravitas”, sorry about that.
RE: Palin is Rove’s political enemy
I think I must have missed the story... how did they become political enemies again ?
Rove is a political consultant for GOP Establishment candidates whose primary election opponents are Tea Pary candidates. His relentless trashing of Christine O’Donnell AFTER she won the republican primary doesn’t help the republican cause but does help Rove’s consulting business.
I can tell that our discussion on the first part won’t really be productive. I’d just say that the public’s perception of her ability to think on her feet suffered. I said it probably wasn’t fair, but she is easy to straw man at this point for a very unsupportive media. Sad perhaps, but hard to dispute. Dan Quayle may have been a great leader for all I know, but baggage is baggage.
On the second part, I give you my word of honor that I don’t have a pick. My comments were not loaded with the agenda of an existing candidate. I don’t do things that way. If I had one, I’d have tried to convince you of my preference. My concerns are frankly amplified because I don’t get excited about any options that are out there currently.
McCain is not the problem...
How can you be so sure?
////////////////////////////////
Because he served his country, sacrificed for his country, and loves his country. He will radicalize as America does. We all grow, develop and change. 40 years ago I was a radical leftist, today I fear for my country, and cry while I sing the national Anthem.
for the professional politician, unlike you, it is a cynical calculation of advantage.
//////////////////////////
Or were they honestly if naively trying to ACCOMPLISH something that would help their country. Its easy for us who have never been in the arena to criticize the accomplishments of those who have. Hind sight is 20-20 vision. Every one of these individuals can learn from mistakes and change for the better. Even communists and liberals can embrace the lord and repent their sins
So, back to specifics, can you forgive Mitt Romney for RomneyCare and John McCain for a litany that includes McCain/Feingold?
When it comes to a candidate for 2012 I have a few, negative, criteria.
A) No one who primarily a legislator, unless they are named Lincoln.
B) No one who served in the Bush administration.
C) No one who is not a reliable free market conservative.
D) No one who is not pro-life.
E) No one from north of the Macon Dixon Line and east of the Hudson.
Based on my criteria, who would you suggest?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.