Karl Rove, a Cancer on American Politics? [Columnist Tom Friedman..........]

Times Watch ^

[Sub-Driver]

Karl Rove, a Cancer on American Politics? "Everyone says that Karl Rove is a genius. Yeah, right. So are cigarette companies. They get you to buy cigarettes even though we know they cause cancer. That is the kind of genius Karl Rove is."

Posted by: Clay Waters 11/3/2006 10:26:59 AM

Columnist Tom Friedman really wants the Republicans to suffer next Tuesday, judging by his Friday column (Times Select required) "Insulting Our Troops, and Out Intelligence."

"George Bush, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld think you’re stupid. Yes, they do.

"They think they can take a mangled quip about President Bush and Iraq by John Kerry -- a man who is not even running for office but who, unlike Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, never ran away from combat service -- and get you to vote against all Democrats in this election.

"Every time you hear Mr. Bush or Mr. Cheney lash out against Mr. Kerry, I hope you will say to yourself, 'They must think I’m stupid.' Because they surely do."

And apparently, Karl Rove causes cancer.

"Everyone says that Karl Rove is a genius. Yeah, right. So are cigarette companies. They get you to buy cigarettes even though we know they cause cancer. That is the kind of genius Karl Rove is. He is not a man who has designed a strategy to reunite our country around an agenda of renewal for the 21st century -- to bring out the best in us. His 'genius' is taking some irrelevant aside by John Kerry and twisting it to bring out the worst in us, so you will ignore the mess that the Bush team has visited on this country.

"And Karl Rove has succeeded at that in the past because he was sure that he could sell just enough Bush cigarettes, even though people knew they caused cancer. Please, please, for our country’s health, prove him wrong this time."

[JRios1968]

That one's a classic...

[buck61]

No he did not, it was Bush's fault.

[Deo et Patria]

I love that the Democrats are putting out articles like this. This means that for all of their bluster about the upcoming "Democratic wave" on 11/7, they really believe that they're going to fail to control either House or Senate.

Deep down, I believe that Bush and Rove actually think they're going to GAIN seats in each House, as that would be the death blow to the libs, what with their insane expectations.

[top 2 toe red]

Lol...{{{shakin' my head sadly}}}

No, I didn't see that, I stopped watching her long ago...long about the time she was doing her shows with the fine MR. Friedman trying to stop the Iraq war.

One show was titled, "Why does the rest of the world hate America" and the other was, "Should the US invade Iraq."

Believe it or not, Tom Friedman was offered up as representing the Conservative viewpoint!

[gogeo]

"They think they can take a mangled quip about President Bush and Iraq by John Kerry -- a man who is not even running for office...

W isn't running for office either...but Darcy Burner has him starring in ads for the 8th Washington Congressional district.

...and Carry was the one who mangled the quip, not anyone else. The "quip" fits what Carry has said many times, which he refuses to apologize for because "it's the truth."

So, Tom...how dumb do you think WE are?

[StAnDeliver]

"Wow. Unlike the other inhabitants of the OpEd page, Friedman usually pretends to be reasonable. Not that he is, but he pretends to be."

He is just another NYeT, worn-out, Chechnik whore like fellow faux poseur Matthew Miller.

All they want is your paycheck, why can't you be more reasonable? < /sar >

[OESY]

Friedman has divined that Kerry's botched joke about a) the president or b) the cost of
education was an irrelevant aside which could be twisted to bring out the worst in Kerry.

Maybe Friedman hasn't noticed, but our troops took Kerry's demeaning remarks
personally, and Al Jazeera publishes comments by leading Democrats verbatim.

Friedman is working overtime to put our troops in jeopardy and to lose this war:
What sane Iraqi would risk his life and his family to give us a tip about insurgent
activities if there was the slightest chance of a Democrat victory next week?

[Miss Marple]

A bit off-topic, but in the same vein:

I have a friend whom I have known since high school. I haven't seen as much of her lately. My husband asked why, and I told him that she mentioned to me that she LOVES Keith Oberman (sp) of MSNBC because he is so funny and sarcastic.

He said, "Oh. That is a good reason."

I try not to judge people, but honestly when I see that their perceptions are 180 from mine, I just don't think we have anything in common.

[Miss Marple]

I would bet cash money that the Kerry quote was exactly as written, by an aide paid off by Hillary. LOL!

[petkus]

Kool!

[Seeking the truth]

Whenever I hear that BS about Friedman being such "an expert on Middle East Affairs", I remind them that Mr. Friedman was one of the leading cheerleaders, if not the Numero Uno cheerleader for the Oslo Accords back in the 90's.

History has proved him to be wrong, very wrong and that was a long time ago so why should anyone listen to what he proposes or says.

After I state this, I ask them if they were aware of that fact. They usually don't respond and try to change the subject.

[kaboom]

unlike Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, (Kerry)never ran away from combat service

It's nice to ignore the facts that Kerry sought deferrments to study in Paris and that he wasn't too keen on the service.

"They [swiftboats] were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing. Although I wanted to see for myself what was going on, I didn't really want to get involved in the war." John Kerry / "A War Remembered (1986)."

[oblomov]

I prefer "Ride of the Valkyries

[StAnDeliver]

I've seen this theory expressed before, and it's faulty because (A) Bush is no Reagan; and (B) Halperin wasn't kidding when he said the MSM was worth "15 points" to Kerry.

Your head is in the sand or stuck somewhere else if you don't realize you are in a cultural war that requires your particpation, not your denigration.

[Cobra64]

I think Friedman is stooopid. He writes like a child.

[driftless2]

Friedman's shrink must have an unbelievable chore trying to decipher what goes on in Tom's brain. Friedman has been a staunch advocate of the Iraq war fought by the Bush admin of which Karl Rove is a leading light. Ole Tom has to know that if Kerry or Gore were prez, Hussein would still be in power. But like many libs, at his core Friedman hates conservatives. So even though he knows Rove is doing the right thing, Friedman can't bring himself not to trash Rove.

I've read more than a few articles by certain libs who agree with the admin on the war but end their articles by slamming Bush and everyone in his administration. It's as if they're calling the person who is saving them from drowning awful names because they don't like the rescuers politics. "Thanks for saving my life...you running dog, capitalist pig!".

[Common Tator]

I think that as has often been the case in the past, Kerry did not expect the MSM to pick up on what he said. When Democrats say outrageous things the media normally just refuses to cover their statements.

I seem to recall hearing that the first coverage about Kerry's statement was on the Internet. Once it was all over the NET, the MSM had little choice but to cover it. What was amazing was Kerry's first reaction was to say he would not apologize to anyone.

I am sure the media believed that Kerry would apologize and it would be over. That is why they covered his day after statement live.

That had to be a very stupid thing to do. I have never felt that Kerry was very bright, but his reaction nearly 20 hours after he made the statement was to refuse to apologize. No one who sees the recording of what he said can believe it was an attempt at a joke. And his refusal to apologize was a huge blunder.

Kerry has ruined his political career. He has zero chance to get the nomination.

What Kerry did also tells us a great deal about the media. They were certain that Howard Dean would be easily defeated by President Bush. They were sure that Kerry could defeat President Bush. But his campaign showed that he did not have a clue about how to win a race. That tells us the media can not pick a winner. Most journalists are dumber than Kerry. And that is pretty dumb.

Kerry had he been a better candidate, could have won the 2004 election. But he did not. I doubt seriously if he gets media support in 2008. I think they will destroy him like they did Dean.

If as expected 2008 looks bad for Hillary they will take her down too.

[driftless2]

One of the biggest problems many people have is thinking they're smarter than they really are. The problem with most big name libs is that they DO believe they're the smartest people around. Libs like Friedman get lionized by the media, get awards for being the smartest lib in the room (like being the strongest person at a weaklings convention) and start believing their own press clippings. In my lifetime (getting near sixty) I've been around more than a few of them. I was a Dem at one point years ago. Believe me, libs aren't nearly as smart as they think they are.