Karl Rove's Advice For Barack Obama

Newsweek:

Four months ago, you took the political world by storm in Iowa. The media were agog. They called your words "gorgeous," your victory "a message to the world." You "made history" and Americans could "look at ourselves with pride" in "a moment to marvel."

Times change. The six weeks leading into Pennsylvania were difficult. You excelled at raising money and gaining endorsements, but got weaker as big problems emerged. Before you can fix them, you must understand them. In Pennsylvania, you won only 30 percent among Catholics and 29 percent among white working-class voters. Defections like this elect Republicans.

Even liberal commentators who adore you warn you can't win with a McGovern coalition of college students and white-wine sippers from the party's left wing. Saying small-town voters cling to guns, faith and xenophobia because of economic bitterness hurt you; it reinforced the growing sense you don't share Middle America's values. So did asking about the price of arugula in Iowa, dismissing the "true" patriotism of people who wear a flag lapel pin, being "friendly" (as your chief strategist, David Axelrod, put it) with a violent, unrepentant '60s radical and having a close relationship with an angry pastor who expressed anti-American sentiments.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

Comments

[dollars2donuts]

Plus, the evil one is right that BO has been so off his game in the last month or two, I hardly recognize the man I supported and was precinct captain for. He seems depressed or something.

[dollars2donuts]

I just read the whole article. Had to swallow a lot of bile to do so, but actually he made a few good points. Despite the fact that he's a diabolic a**hole, he certainly understands the dark arts of campaigning and BO would do well to listen from one who understands the right, which he will need to woo at least a few of to have any hope of getting to the WH.

[CatLadyforObama]

On the surface his comments and suggestions seem sound, but isn't he also the advisor to GW Bush, who's current approval rating is something like 23%? Hmmm......­What is he up to? Pointing out Obama's "flaws" publicly with left-handed compliments. Gee, if he were serious, wouldn't he just send the letter directly to Obama directly? Seems like he's jealous and starving for some media attention.

[ThePodiumIsMine]

"Gee, if he were serious, wouldn't he just send the letter directly to Obama directly? Seems like he's jealous and starving for some media attention.­"

Hello? He's a columnist.

[CatLadyforObama]

Ahh, is that what you call him now? I guess he's on the job market LMAO!!

[izAriver]

Another attempt at "bipartisanship"?

[ThePodiumIsMine]

Bipartisianship; yet another concept that liberals preach in theory only and that conservatives practise constantly. The result is typical; conservative reaches a friendly hand across the aisle, the libs bite the hand.

Your loss, better luck in 2012, try not to eat your own the next time around.

[TocinoHumano]

Screw bipartisanship. I long for a democratic candidate who would, in the context of a political campaign, don a pair of steel-toed boots and kick the sh*t out of the GOP, until a guacamole-like substance oozed from its ears, and it stopped moving and making sounds. The only reason to reach across the aisle to a Republican is to gouge his/her eyes out (figuratively speaking, of course).

[CatLadyforObama]

I think you're my new super hero!

[ThePodiumIsMine]

LOL
Yeah, that'll get your guy elected.

[Sabreen60]

ROTLAFMAO!! You do have a way of expressing yourself. The thought of reaching down to Rove as some kind of bipartisanship gesture is laughable, but Obama will need to reach across the aisle in order to get legislature passed. Damn I like guacamole - I'll never be able to eat it again without thinking of this picture you have placed in my head.

[Podewumun]

Bipartisanship; to a neocon, it's the equivalent of bisexuality.

They'll screw anybody.

[izAriver]

Bipartisanship is an oxymoron. Conservative extremists are simply morons. Conservatives are scared to death of change and fear makes people really stupid. "Liberals" (another meaningless term in this venue) bite the hand because there's a knife or a gun in it ready to stab or shoot them in the back.

[ThirdSection]

Bipartisanship: Republicans taking the initiative while the Democrats sheepishly follow.

I, for one, am fed up with this sort of "bipartisa­nship."

[izAriver]

So you're being "bipartisan" by pointing out a lack of "bipartisanship" from "liberals"?

P.S. "Bipartisan" is at best an oxymoron and "liberal" has lost all meaning in this venue. Apparently it refers to anyone who isn't some right wing nut.

[Podewumun]

A couple of years back, there was an "I Love Karl Rove" website.
For a thousand dollars, you could spend an hour with Karl discussing political strategy.
For five hundred, you got half an hour.
And for ten bucks, you could purchase a pair of thong underwear with a big heart, Karl's likeness and "I (heart) Karl!" silk-screened across the front.

I thought about buying a pair just so I could wear them inside out and backwards.

[marc1antony]

As if anything Karl Rove says is of value - PPPPoooorr­rrrrrkkkrr­rrr

[MichelleB]

This is why this country is going down, we listen to a war criminal, who has blood in his hands. Because of people like Rove, thousands died and billions of dollars have been squandered. Yet the public can't seem to wake up. As Churchill brilliantly said, every nation deserves its leaders.

[TocinoHumano]

Well, the world has turned completely upside down. Progressives, who used to be quick to spot Rush Limbaugh for the liar that he is, now believe him when he says he wants Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee. So I guess it was just a matter of time before Karl Rove gave Barack Obama advice. If Obama actually takes Rove's advice, I'm buying a sheet of blotter and going on a month-long acid binge. A lysergic world would make a lot more sense than this one.

My memory of presidential campaigns goes back to Nixon/Kennedy, and I've never seen anything as whack as this election. Democrats hate members of their own party even more than they do the real opposition, progressives are taking the pronouncements of right -wing demagogues seriously, and two candidates with nearly identical voting records and issue positions are viewed as diametric opposites. I feel like I just woke up in some weird parallel universe.

[nellie]

What does this have to do with the article? Did you suddenly suffer an attack of spewing?

[TocinoHumano]

The article was Karl Rove giving advice to Barack Obama. I thought that was pretty weird and commented on it. That's how forums like this work. If it bothers you so much, look for my screen name in the future and don't read anything I post. You'll be happier and I won't be wasting my words on you.

[WomanInOrangeSweater]

Do you disagree with the post? It seems a reasonable reaction to the article to me. Am I missing something or did you suddenly suffer an attack of unnecessary rudeness?

[dollars2donuts]

Me too.

[Promisin1]

I can't believe the responses I'm reading here. This is another Karl Rove move in support of Hillary. First of all he (Rove) should be giving advice to Hillary. She's losing. Secondly, this to me is part of the MSM painting of Obama as weak and he needs help to win in November. Exactly the message Hillary wants to be sending to super delegates who are poised to move toward Obama.

[TocinoHumano]

Do you actually believe Karl Rove and the Republicans want to help Hillary Clinton? if so, please get in touch with me; I own several bridges, no doubt one near you, and I'd be willing to sell it to you at a very good price.

[Sabreen60]

So why do you think all the right wing fanatics are bashing Obama and not Hillary. IMO, they believe it will be easier to beat Hillary than Obama. Hillary has many more scandals attached to her than Obama. Yes?

[Promisin1]

Actually, I believe that Hillary is using the Republicans to help her win over the super delegates. She will do anything to convince the undecided super delegates to choose her because she claims Obama is weak. I also believe the republicans want her to continue in the democratic raise to keep John Mccain's almost daily gaffes and flip flops off the front page of the news.

[Lindy222]

Hilarious. Karl Rove as concern troll. This piece is pure political propaganda.

Well, it beats being in prison.

[Lindy222]

Quote: "I hate Karl Rove, but that doesn't mean that he isn't a political genius."

Oh please. Karl Rove as concern troll. This piece is pure political propaganda. Alas, comments like the above suggest there are still people out there who are stupid enough for it to work.

[TocinoHumano]

If Karl Rove is such a genius, why did his office email something like 500 pages of caging lists from the 2000 Florida election to White House dot org (an anti-Bush website) rather than White House dot gov? Caging lists that contained page after page of the names of active duty military personnel, mostly African American, that the GOP tried to keep from voting in that election.

[NewOrleans4Obama]

Barack couldn't have remained the sun king forever. He's going through a rough patch right now and he'll emerge a stronger candidate for it.

[Podewumun]

He got a big boost yesterday.

Bubba is back on the campaign trail. lol

[tompoe]

Corporate media gives war criminal Karl Rove a platform to spew his garbage, and Huffington Post enables this nonsense to spread. What's Huffington Post being paid for this?

[izAriver]

That's right. You can't run for president without getting lots of sh@! thrown at you. Teflon is an equal opportunity covering.

[CapitalistRebel]

I hate Karl Rove, but that doesn't mean that he isn't a political genius.

Being a staunch Obama supporter, many of the points he discussed in this article are similar to what I've been thinking. Particularly his suggestion that Obama refuse to attack Clinton for the remainder of the campaign. If she attacks him, he should defend himself but nothing more. If he continues to engage with her, she will drag him down into the mud along with her and she plays that game better than he does.

Also, he does need to revamp his message a little bit. Another big speech could jumpstart his momentum at this crucial juncture of the campaign. He has said numerous times that he intends to have a bipartisan cabinet, so I'm guessing Mr. Rove hasn't been listening close enough.

That being said, I hope Karl Rove gets prosecuted for crimes against the American people and goes to jail for a very long time.

[nellie]

He's not a genius. The one piece of advice he should have given, he didn't give. His article is not mean to assist Senator Obama.

[nellie]

"meant"

[Lindy222]

Exactly. It's meant to bloody up him up further. And all the while Rove is smiling and wishing he could eat Obama's liver for good luck.

[venicesurfer]

that was good advice. i doubt anyone here bashing rove actually read it.

say what you want about rove. he's a genius. evil genius but genius none the less.

[izAriver]

If you think he's a genius then you've never had any substantive interaction with a psychotically manipulative child. They seem like geniuses too...You know, he kinda looks like a spoiled little child, doesn't he?

[Podewumun]

Think Damien.

[nellie]

Karl Rove is not a genius. He's a prankster and a cheater. If he had any genius, he would be able to accomplish political goals without resorting to treason, such as outing a CIA agent.

His advice—and I did read the article—is garbage. It is a laundry list of the current media criticisms of Obama in the guise of offering counsel. Read carefully, and you will see that all he does is reinforce what Republicans hope are Obama's negatives while railing off platitudes and impracticable strategies such as "stop campaigning".

Rove is a hanger on and a wannabe elitist. "It's not where you start out, it's where you end up." Rove hopes this is so. But he knows in his soul who he really is.

[Podewumun]

Rove is a sycophant. A fawning parasite.

[bujeeboo]

Rove sounds jealous that he couldn't groom or guide someone like Obama. Instead, he had the tremendous task of "polishing the turd", George W. Bush.