<p>Just heard that McCain is employing the master. Makes me wonder if Hillary would be more successful than Barack against Rove.</p>
<p>Hillary will sink to Rove’s level. Obama will rise above it.</p>
<p>Karl Rove studied at the feet of Billary before writing his play book, you know;)</p>
<p>I think Rove is greatly over-rated and over-feared by the Dems. Face it, the last two elections the Dems nominated two dreadful candidates. It didn’t take a “master” to beat them; they beat themselves.</p>
<p>Well, rats aren’t big giant monsters either, but they can do a lot of damage behind the scenes and are still feared and found repulsive by many.</p>
<p>"they can do a lot of damage behind the scenes "</p>
<p>Can you provide any specifics about what “ratty” things Rove did behind the scenes to be so repulsive?</p>
<p>I could, but, there seems to always be an excuse to defend Rove and his antics and if one doesn’t see anything wrong with his style, no proof would make any difference, but I will do you that service after work.</p>
<p>No, I want to know what all these feared tactics are, or are they just a product of hype (or excuse-making on the Dems part … “if it weren’t for Karl, our guys, Kerry and Gore, would have come across as dynamic as Barak Obama.”)</p>
<p>Rove is slime of the first order, and I’m a Republican. Rove is disgusting filth. What he’s orchestrated these last 8 years with W is why I am so seriously wanting to vote for a Democrat and why I want Hillary to get the nomination so I can vote for her.</p>
<p>That said, David Axelrod, who is Obama’s Rove, is equally slimy and machiavellian and probably a good match to combat Rove, so one could say Obama would be up to the task. It wouldn’t really be Obama vs. McCain it would be Axelrod vs. Rove.</p>
<p>otoh, the Clintons already survived 8 years of Rove working behind the scenes that included an impeachment proceeding. So they’ve already proven they can take it and survive. Hillary is one tough broad and she could most likely survive Rove, even w/o Axelrod’s help (he used to advise Bill, so she’s already learned whatever lessons he has to teach). Plus, what dirt is there left to uncover about the Clintons. We already know everything, all the shock value is gone. Who knows what’s lurking in Obama’s closet? You can rest assured Rove will get it out.</p>
<p>I also blame Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, and Feith for my defection, not just Rove, but Rove is a large part of it. Plus the fact that W not only didn’t listen to his dad, he wouldn’t listen to his dad, and wanted to “make his mark and prove himself”. Ha, and we have the current mess in Iraq to show for it.</p>
<p>“otoh, the Clintons already survived 8 years of Rove working behind the scenes that included an impeachment proceeding.”</p>
<p>That’s the first I ever hard of that. Can you provide any specifics? Rove was essentially an unknown down in Texas during those years. Are you saying he was also directly involved with the impeachment stuff? In fact, can you provide any specifics that would make the allegation of “slime” warranted.</p>
<p>
There is no truth to that.</p>
<p>Rove is a genius. But it won’t take a genius to develop the playbook to defeat Obama or Clinton. Their weaknesses are pretty obvious.</p>
<p>It would be ironic if Dems (like me) picked Obama, perceived as more kind and gentle than Hillary, and then McCain/Rove was able to fold him up.</p>
<p>A war costing $12 billion a month that requires a political, not military solution, is a pretty big weakness for McCain. As are 50 million Americans with poor access to health care. Wasting our money overseas while not taking care of our own will, in the long run, weaken us.</p>
<p>razorsharp,
McCain has plenty of weaknesses of his own. He is particularly vulnerable on Iraq, The Keating Five, and his own ‘personality problems’ (ie., abrasiveness, a big factor in working in or with Congress). He also has personal skeletons-in-the-closet with regard to marriage/divorce, etc.<br>
(Not suggesting that campaigning SHOULD revolve around personal issues, just that those are exploitable by campaign managers.)</p>
<p>
You are right on the Iraq war unless Sen. Clinton is the Dem. nominee, in which case McCain will look better than her because he supported the surge and was right on that point.
You are absolutely wrong in the Keating Five. That was a democrat scandle and McCain was lumped in there so that it would not be only a democrat scandle. Bob Bennett, the prosecutor who investigated McCain, said this.
His personality problems are no different from any other politians. I don’t like his temper but it is not worse than Bill Clinton’s temper (just ask George S.).
You are wrong on skeletons in marraige/divorce. McCain is no Spitzer. As to character, his war hero record trumps would trump divorce/marriage problems anyway.
McCain will easily beat Hillary Clinton and Obama unless both of them are on the ticket.</p>
<p>McCain’s real problem is that he is a wimp when it comes to fighting back against democrats. He is so interested in having a civil campaign that he will let the dems get away with just about anything.</p>
<p>Lots of slimey dispicicable people throughout history were geniuses. Being smart doesn’t mean you are a good person.</p>
<p>And slime is very warranted. He just is very good at wiping up his trail.</p>
<p>Have I missed the examples provided of “ratty” and “slimey” actions by Karl Rove?</p>
<p>^^^^ You do realize that labeling someone as slimy and despicable without any substantiation is pretty slimy itself, don’t you?</p>
<p>Yes, Karl Rove is a beacon of intergrity, honesty, ethics and upfrontness. I am at work. And to be honest, no matter what proof some people see, they will take pride in Rove being one of their own.</p>
<p>You are free to go back to telling each other how swell a guy he is.</p>
<p>The majority of people see him for who he is- he never lies, never misreprents the truth, never hides, never forged documents, never cheated in political races.</p>
<p>No, he actually deserves an medal of honor for his upright behavior- yes I want my daughters to marry men just like him.</p>
<p>“You are free to go back to telling each other how swell a guy he is.”</p>
<p>Who said that? Can you give me the post numbers?</p>