McCain Embraces Rove

Karl Rove last week announced that he had given $2300 to the presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

Asked over the weekend about the donation, McCain said he has "always respected Karl Rove as one of the smart great political minds I think in American politics," and specifically refused to condemn Rove's hyper-partisan campaign tactics (including his smears against McCain in the 2000 South Carolina race).

Watch it:

Transcript:

QUESTION: Are there other signs you see that are encouraging to you...

MCCAIN: Oh yeah. A lot of the fundraisers from other camps are coming on board. And yeah we're seeing that coming together really well. We're seeing it.

[Inaudible]

MCCAIN: Who?

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QUESTION: Karl Rove?

MCCAIN: Oh I, listen, he ah. Nobody denies he's one of the smartest political minds in America. I'd be glad to get his advice. I get advice from a lot of people. I'd be happy to have his advice.

QUESTION: I was wondering about that, right....

MCCAIN: He beat me. I certainly would be glad to get his advice. I don't think I'd want to revisit how he did it. And I mean that. Not about South Carolina. I mean I don't feel like reliving my defeat.

QUESTION: Are you worried about, he uses very aggressive tactics is that something that--

MCCAIN: I've always respected Karl Rove as one of the smart great political minds I think in American politics. I've always respected him. We never had any ill will after the initial South Carolina thing. After we had the meeting with President Bush we moved on. I've seen Karl Rove many times when I've been over at the White House. We've always had pleasant conversations.

QUESTION: His tactics don't, you don't disapprove of them? They don't make you nervous?

MCCAIN: It's not so much whether I approve of his tactics or not. It's that he has a very good, great political mind. Any information or advice and council he can give us, I'd be glad to have. I don't think anybody denies his talents. So I'd be glad to get any advice and council. We would obviously decide whether to accept it or not.

Comments

[musselmanm]

With every wet French kiss to the far right lunacy, the farther the presumptive nominee moves away from the Independent voters.
He can't be doing very well with centrist Democrats either.
Carefull mr. nominee, Rove may still be used to rat packing your ass still.

[serialcoma]

McCain, evidenced by his willingness to even listen to Rove, has surrendered his dignity, integrity, ethics and any morals he may have had, to his egotistical desire too be President... this by itself demonstrates he is not qualified to lead our nation.

republicans are a threat to our nation.

[Centaur]

I couldn't agree with you more. "Old Mad Mac" has the gall to call out Obama and Clinton for surrendering to Al Qaida and he surrenders to the guy who trashed him and his family. With the exception of the 30 percent idiot base, who in their right mind would want this guy as president.

[degjack]

As another blogger here so quaintly put it: "McCain embraces Rove. Hugs Bush. Kisses Lieberman. Fondles Falwell...They shit in his hat and he gets all lovey dovey.."

But that's not the scary part. The scary part is that Americans by and large HATE everything McBomb stands for....yet they STILL go out and vote for him! It's way too troublesome to find a viable candidate, someone who isn't a loose cannon like McPlaneCrash, somebody George Bush himself has labeled "unbalanced"
(and Bush must "know" unbalanced when he sees it). The scary part is the American electorate.

[factotem]

And this is why McCain should not be president. He is spineless.

[angelwax]

I'm with ya man. This guy leaves a trail of slime when he walks. To think I said I could vote for him back in 2000. What a sycophant.

[serialcoma]

I'm in the same position.. at one point in 2000 I was willing to consider McCain but his embrace of bush, and now this, demonstrates he is around the bend and is not qualified to lead our nation.

[researcher]

spineless? the demos are spineless. not the repubs. the repubs may sell their souls for a vote and they are indeed war mongers but spineless?

the repubs will trade your kids blood for oil in a minute.

newsweek now has karl rove writing for them. no more newsweek for me.

it is a class war and until americans see that nothing will be gained. wait and see.

[dogman44]

Researcher, one more war, CLASS WAR!!!!

[TIMEATELL]

McCain will do anything to win...even sell his soul.

[oldgringo]

McCain lost whatever soul he might have laid claim to when he not only "forgave Rove/Bush" after 2000, but cuddled up with them as their #2 PIMP behind only KISSIN'JOE LIEBERMAN!
What a liar! What a hypocrite! What a looser! And HE is the LEADER OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?
GET OUTTA HERE, YOU DEMENTED OLD FAKE!

[Wilburrr]

Poor McCain -- The man with no brain is stuck between Karl Goebbels Rove and a hard place. He can't piss Rove off, so turn the pandering up to 10!

[littlequeenie]

To think I once respected this guy when he was running against Bush,(Of course, compared to Bush who can't speak a coherent sentence....), even tho' I disagreed with just about everything he said.
But then he started sucking up to the radical evangelicals who he had publicly disagreed with before, sucking up to Bush, now this....

Win at any cost, I guess.
Absolutely no integrity, not to mention self-respect or respect for his family.

[GenXLiberal]

Do we really want a person who embraces someone who personally attacked his service, his daughter, and his character. He will capitulate to anyone!

[queeraz]

Grandpa Munster needs to wipe the brown lipstick off before it becomes permanent. He's nothing more than a Bush wanna-be, another puppet for the RNC. why desn't anyone talk about how polarizing he is? He's a used car salesman at best, not a President!

[Canukistani]

So is there a picture, like when McCain embraced Bush? McCain seems to be ready to embrace anybody as long as there's something in it for him. Wait. Isn't that against the law?

[Querent]

This picture has been everywhere on the web. Here's one place you can see it:

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3782

[jj]

Have you no pride, McCain?

[totaldisbelief]

Why can't we as a nation scrape the Rove off our shoes?

[dogman44]

LOL

[hyjanks]

Wouldn't it be great if the Straight Shooter shot straighter . . . and lined up Turdblossom in his sights?
John, John, John! Take that white head of hair, that swollen left cheek, that seventy-one-year-old, war-ravaged body and that wife who looks like she stepped out of a Robert Palmer video . . . and go back to Sedona, Arizona for retirement.
It's a new generation, bucko! And you're on the wrong end.

[totaldisbelief]

It's gratifying to see that Mr. Ashcroft still has his head firmly planted way up his ass.

[in4success]

rove was all about supporting mccain (and hillary) on face the nation today . . . . so the limbaugh/coulter thing is DEFINITELY a ploy to get the less savvy dems to support her so they can swift boat her ass in the general.