Newsweek - How Bush Did It

Newsweek ^ | 11-18-02 Issue | By Howard Fineman

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Nov. 18 issue — Election Day dawned in excellent fashion for a president leading a war on world terror and a political campaign for control of Congress. Thanks to a well-timed leak from the Pentagon, the morning newspapers featured what amounted to a riveting, last-minute campaign ad, a story (with a dramatic picture) about how a CIA Predator drone had incinerated a carload of Al Qaeda in Yemen. By late afternoon, George W. Bush got more good news. Harvey Pitt, his gasoline-on-the-fire chairman of the SEC, had saved Bush the trouble of firing him by voluntarily resigning.

WITH NIGHTFALL CAME the fun part, a dinner party upstairs in the White House, where the president would gather with allies and aides to toast his and Laura’s 25th anniversary amid an elegant tableau of white candles and white roses. After dessert, they all would monitor what Karl Rove, his consigliere for 29 years, had predicted would be the happy results of a meticulously calculated Republican campaign effort, nearly two years in the making.

[snip]

[Oldeconomybuyer]

On election night, President Bush went to bed at 2 a.m. and slept late for the first time since he moved into the White House
How Bush Did It
In a historic win, Dubya defied the experts once again. Behind the GOP’s early planning and product-testing in a wartime race.

[gr8eman]

What a loser this guy is..."Consigliere".????

[lexington minuteman 1775]

The demos keep up the attacks on how dumb GW is and he keeps on winning.So he is either the smartest President in generations or democrats are just plain stupid.I suggest that both may be true.

[abclily]

Apparently Howard Finemann does not realize that the Democrats LOST the election that was theirs to lose. Factors that contributed to the loss: 1) Clintons, 2) Homeland Security, 3) Wellstone's funeral party, 4) changing the election rules in NJ, etc., etc. The majority of voters are NOT stupid.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

A genial sort, seemingly casual about details, Bush is actually a methodical executive with a penchant—almost an obsession—for planning. Last August, his inner circle gathered in Crawford, Texas, to “plan the fall,” as one aide later put it. The first decision, made Aug. 8, was to keep Iraq front and center for months, not by dropping Daisy Cutters on Baghdad but by going on a long, stately march through Congress and the United Nations. Ironically, it was a course that liberal Democrats were demanding—not realizing it would be turned against them.

Can you say, "misunderestimate"?

[Huck]

The people of the several states did it. How they did it was by ignoring the pompous bloviating of boot-licking toadies like Howard Fineman, who fawn over politicos as if they were rock stars; Americans chose wisely (except here in NJ--oh, well, 800,000 voters turned out for Forrester--we tried!) Morons like Fineman simply refuse to deal with issues in a substantive, respectful, or responsible manner. It's all a game. "Let's play hardball!" What a bunch of jerks. They will never get it.

[randita]

One of these days, a liberal columnist is going to REALLY go out on limb and analyze just what all this is about:

Ken Starr was right.

Just as Dan Quayle was right about the Murphy Brown phenomena.

[johnny7]

Fineman writes volumes but he still don't believe it.

“Bush is a methodical planner...” So was a Neanderthal for crissakes!

The media will keep trying to make Bush look stupid like they did to Quayle.

One of the big factors was the dem orgy at Wellstones funeral... the turning away of the VP.

That was despicable... the beaming faces of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

If anybody couldn't see that something was wrong there, they'd have to be blind.

[HateBill]

Fineman made the point that Republicans see the world in a manichean way, but Democrats don't.

Earth to Fineman! Democrats most certainly *do* see the world in a manichean way, but while we see terrorists like John Mohammed, Osama and Arafat as "evil," Democrats see them as "freedom fighters," "misunderstood" or "coming from troubled homes." The dark side of their manichean world is the fetus, tax cuts, self-protection, and freedom.

Fineman should spend more time on DU and see for himself just how manichean the Dems. are!

[FryingPan101]

Yeah. I got the same feeling. Fineman is a loser.

[omegab]

And don't forget the two Dem stooges who spoke out against the President in Iraq. I and many other faithful Americans have been praying for God to expose the dark souls of leaders in the U.S.

There is a cleansing going on in America and all of us need to search our hearts and be ready for the consequences of our actions. Just as the filth of the presidency reached down to all segments of society under BC, bringing darkness and lawlessness, so the Christian heart of GW will filter down to all levels with light and righteousness. It is a time to get our moral act together and turn from selfishness to selflessness (I'm preaching to myself too, donchaknow).

[Freedom4US]

The Newsweek article is full of used food. They come up with *anything* except that the voters are sick and tired of the demospinners lies. Sure, the President is popular but come on. Subtle but implied, their article really suggests, somehow, this is all some sort of aberration. The democrats need to remember that "Accepting you have a problem" is the first step to recovery.

[MoralSense]

Gee, how do I get a job like Howard Fineman's? I can write the common wisdom as well as he does, saying everything everybody else says. Why does he get the big bucks?

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

As a side note, I hope G.W. will loan Carl Rove to his brother, Jeb, in 2008.

[DB]

The Anti-Clinton.

[LS]

True, no mention of the Clintons, although on election night he did TEND to agree with Peggy Noonan that this was an election pitting the Clintons v. the Bushes.

How about this line, though:

"The first decision, made Aug. 8, was to keep Iraq front and center for months, not by dropping Daisy Cutters on Baghdad but by going on a long, stately march through Congress and the United Nations. Ironically, it was a course that liberal Democrats were demanding—not realizing it would be turned against them."

Rush, although opposed to this approach from a power standpoint, announced this back in early SEPTEMBER as the Bush team's obvious strategy that was backfiring on the Dems.

It was quite brilliant---as many here on FR have called it, the old "tar baby" strategy. And, finally, Fineman, many times on election night, pointed out that the media has underestimated this guy over and over, and he was not going to again. Even Donna Brazere-less had to admit he was a brilliant politician.

[corkoman]

umm...manichean? Help me I was sick on the day they went over Mani in school.

[Let's Roll]

He's even more of a loser than that - Rove has been Dubya's consigliere for nine years - since 1993. The writer is confusing Dubya with his father. Rove did do some work for GHWB or for an agency that advised GHWB about that long ago. First rule of journalism - if your facts aren't correct why should your readers believe your opinions?

On the one hand the lib/media reminds us constantly of what a wild party boy Dubya used to be and on the other we are supposed to believe Rove was advising him before he even met Laura? Can't have it both ways.

[NYCVirago]

This story says Bush slept late on the day after the election for the first time since moving into the White House, yet the Time magazine article says that Bush held a 7 a.m. meeting that morning. Who to believe?

[Congressman Billybob]

Two weeks before the election, I wrote on FR that President Bush's visits to Florida were NOT to save Jeb Bush's job as Governor. They were not to WIN the race for him; it was already won. Instead they were to give him an overwhelming win, so he could have a strong second term as Governor.

Then, when term limits took him out as Governor of Florida in 2006, he could spend the next two years running to replace his brother as President. Several other FReepers picked up on this point. So did you, in mentioning that Dubya might lend Rove to Jeb in 2008.

On the distinct possibility that Clinton (him and her) and Terry McAuliffe were long-term Machiavellilans, their disastrous plans, especially where to allocate their millions of dollars, made sense. They assumed that they would not take back the House. They assumed they would hold the Senate, even if they had to "bribe" Senator Chafee to do that.

So they turned their major financial guns on Jeb Bush in Florida, precisely to kill off in advance the main potential opponent to Hillary! in 2008. As has been said many times in the monarchial history of England, "If you strike at a king, you must kill him."

They struck at the future king to cut off the dynasty. They failed, and made him stronger. Now they are on the run across hill and dale, pursued by men on horseback and peasants with torches. But we must not underestimate the foe. The Clintonistas need to be hunted down, trapped, and gelded -- every last one of them, including Clinton (her).

Did I miss anything?

Congressman Billybob

"This Just In: Bush Defeats Clinton"

"to Restore Trust in America"