Rove On McCain: "Very Steep Hill To Climb"

John McCain has a "very steep hill to climb" to win the election, former White House adviser Karl Rove told "Fox News Sunday."

Rove, nicknamed "The Architect" for his role in helping President Bush win the last two elections, gave a sober assessment of McCain's chances, explaining that Barack Obama is ahead with 317 electoral votes, according to his own electoral map.

Rove forecast that Virginia, Colorado, Indiana and Ohio would go Obama's way and that McCain has to win back those states and dominate the remaining battleground states to have any chance of winning:

In order to -- in order for McCain to win, he's got a very steep hill to climb. He's got to win all of the toss-up states, 64 electoral votes, all the yellow-shaded states on the map.

Then he needs to strip away Ohio and Indiana with 31 electoral votes to get him to 252. And then he needs to either win Colorado and Virginia, which gets him to 274, or win one of them plus Pennsylvania, which would get him to 282 or 286. It's a steep uphill climb.

Rove also commented on recent reports about infighting within the McCain campaign:

It is a sign of undisciplined people who do not have the loyalty that they ought to have to the candidate whom they're serving. And it's -- it's a sad sight to see. Nobody makes themselves look good by this process..

Comments

[Tsk Tsk]

Karl Rove, the man they called "Bush's brain." Now, at last, since the cretin is only working sporadically, very unclearly, disjointedly, and working to pass blame to anyone else but himself, and only working a little bit and part time, now I can believe it......he is very much like Bush's brain.

[GhostOfSchlesinger]

With no offense intended toward Tony Blankley, I must admit to strong disagreement with his assertion that Republicans should fight on "in a struggle to the political death for the soul of the country".

I believe that the "soul of the country" was quite well defined for us by the founders; that it is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, neither of which made reference to the sort of rigid, partisan ideology that has done anything but enliven the spiritual center, the "Vital Center" that allowed us to negotiate and compromise on the common ground of democratic principles for decades before the Civil War and over a hundred years after.

There is nothing wrong with being either liberal or conservative. YET, these must take a back seat to being an American.

Of course, the preceding thought could be read cynically depending on how we might define American. But if we could agree that being an American is about our Constitution and We The People, then we could probably arrive at a place similar to the one that allowed us to slay the twin dragons of the Great Depression and fascism.

Among the coolest of my conservative friends, a commercial real estate developer that supported Mitt Romney in the primaries, put it this way, "A nation governed via political warfare between the opposing extremes simply cannot and will not thrive."

We have arrived again at 1932.

I'll meet you in the middle.

[GaBu]

Lib logic point # 68

Tom Brokaw is a McCain supporter, he never should be handling the debates, he'd never give McCain tough questions.

(later on)

Why won't Sarah Palin appear on MTP so Tom Brokaw can ask her some tough questions.

[suzycolorado]

Listen Gabu, and I mean this in the nicest way. Go hold your breath...for an hour.

[DaOne]

If only this were the outcome

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1078/532586286_2485b6c2d4.jpg?v=0

[GaBu]

Why, will you be speaking for an hour somewhere?

[Punkynsnow]

LOL!

I don't think it would help GaBu, there already seems to be brain damage.

[abby4ever]

suzy, next time don't be so nice, he doesn't appreciate it.

[parrotkisser]

Did those two statements come from the same person or two different people?

[kdublya]

I care just enough to tell you are failing miserably.

[goodog]

"By David Frum
Sunday, October 26, 2008; Page B01

"There are many ways to lose a presidential election. John McCain is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102302081.html?nav=rss_print/outlook

David Frum is full of it, and he's trying to act like the party wasn't crippled exactly because of what his boss, George Bush, did with his so-called 2000 victory.

Unless a real maverick had risen up out of that mess, with a complete overhaul of the party in mind, the Republicans were doomed in any other event, and probably even that one.

Blaming it on either McCain or Palin in particular, while excitingly tempting, ignores the fact that America had already turned on the RNC, whose chances never rose with McCain's at the one high point for him after the RNC convention. Even when he was up, the party still dragged, badly.

I give McCain no excuse for running quite stupidly on conservative credibility, philosophy, and promises after all they did wrong, but neither do I give Frum the out he's looking for. He and his boss trashed the constitution, the country, and America's place in the world.

Frum should be ashamed, but he's not.

[williamg]

Attacked by a McCain Supporter!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrEsUtG1U0k&eurl

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

ATM by a nursing home. LOL

[goodog]

horrible... no one's safe until this election's over... but even then... gird your loins.

[myangeldog1]

Her secessionist ways are revealin
the horror her handlers are feelin
she's a pain in the arse
shedding light on their farce
and the Audacity of Hope we're believin.
Southprairie

Candidates about whom limericks are written
rarely find voters who are smitten
once you've gotten to that point
you've really stunk up the joint
McCain should've gone with Mitten
tuttlemsm

There once was a ha ck ey mom
who just thought she was the b o m b
but who'da thunk it
she decided to bu ck it
and bolted the ticket with john
MIMom

McCain went to Alaska to getcha
you were ready, yup, yup, you betcha
but you never could say
what a VP does everyday
now MCcain is sorry he metcha!
nellie

[VolvoBirkenstock]

My money comes from the Budweiser
My eye makeup covers the shiner
When he gets real mad
His temper is bad
Why did I choose such an 0ld gee-zer?

[myangeldog1]

Cr@p I missed that one Volvo! But I will add it to my list now!

[StarkRavingNakedEmperor]

Excellent! The Best of HuffPo Saturday Night Live's Not Quite Ready For Random House Poets Society.

[AZTrueBlue]

Don't believe him!
Get out the vote for Obama!

[maceov]

So... even Satan's head Republican imp himself -AKA- Karl Rove, can see that Obama is CLEARLY in the lead. Very interesting indeed!

You'll have a great deal to answer for on Judgement Day, Mr. Rove. Would not want to be in your shoes. And you think you've done something wonderful by stealing the past two elections. But there is a higher judge that you shall answer to on that day. He is God.

[williamg]

I wonder which poll Drudge will tout tomorrow.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

The one belonging to the trick he picked up over the weekend.

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

Probably the one from the Klan.

Does he still have the photo of the young white woman with the Barack my world tee shirt?

Man was he hoping that would go some where.

[JerseyGirl4Obama]

Get out and vote. Vote early if you can. Don't trust these people.

[abby4ever]

Hi everyone, just got back from a fun supper with 10 friends, all students (8 American, 4 Brits, counting me and hubby), we toasted Obama all night. Logged on here, saw this article, and remembered reading the following:

From the London Times:

"If Barack Obama wins the American presidential election in nine days’ time, it will be because he has be@ten the Republicans at their own game, according to Karl Rove, the noted “architect” of President George W Bush’s two victories.

"The Democrats have copied Rove’s f0rmidable tactics and ground operation, pump*ng out a disciplined message, assembling a broad-based coalition which includes young first-time voters and Afric@n-Americans, and dr0wning their Republican opponents with money.

"“I’ve got to tell you, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Rove said in an interview. “I can say, I’m deeply flattered.”

"Rove recalled how Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, outlined their electoral strategy at the Democratic convention in August: “He explicitly said we have deliberately copied the army of persuasion of the Republicans.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5014706.ece

The above video gets cut off, I wonder if some of the above is what was on it.

:]

[Coyote2]

Rove is an intelligent man; too bad he used it for evil

[Coyote2]

Rove is an intelligent man; too bad he used it for e vil

[peacekitten]

r.o.v.e. is an ig=norant @$$. he's not brilliant. he che@ts. anyone can win when they che@t.

the fact that he's now trying to claim credit for 0bama's impending victory is one of the most delusional loads of unadulterated +b.u.1.1./.s.h.1.t i have seen in a very long time.

r.o.v.e. just refuses to understand that his only really significant contribution to the 0bama campaign is the fact that the american people .H. .A. .T. E r.o.v.e. and everything that disg/usting f.&.c.k. stands for so much that they will do ANYTHING to get them out of power.

the fact that our alternative in the form of 0bama turned out to be a man of class, style, wit, intelligence and seeming integrity was our good luck.

i hope r.o.v.e and all his acc=olytes r.o.t. in h.e.1.1. forever more.

[eMJayy]

Carl Rove's playbook never had anything in it about mobilizing the CITIZENRY around unifying messages and HOPE for the future.....

Instead Rove's chief strategy was to mobilizing DESTRUCTIVE, DIVISIVE and UNTRUTHFUL MESSAGES to the citizenry in the HOPE that we would all fall for it...

[GregoryTom]

I living in Missouri am pretty sure that Missouri will go to Senator Obama. I have been all over Missouri talking to different people. and Obama seems to be the favorite. Colorado will stay blue.

[myangeldog1]

Hey fellow Missourian!

[SurferKit]

I have cousins in MO, with in-laws probably around twenty. They're all voting for O. But I'm still not certain MO will go blue. I'm hoping.

[LAThinker]

The blame game has begun

http://www.ucubd.com/Index.aspx?id=855&cid=3163

[GaBu]

Amazing how a few dissenting voices causes mass hysteria here, the people are wrong about you libs, you can punch your way out of a wet paper bag.

[kdublya]

Ooh changing things up.

1. Blithe Fallacy
2. Ad hominem
3. Ad hominem

Still boring.

[abby4ever]

I just got here, been reading the thread, where is the hysteria?

[DaOne]

You've been owned muppet, move on.

Anyone who can't put forth a position on the candidate they are supporting has no place debating candidates positions.

You are even too much of a coward to say you are supporting McSame. You certainly aren't supporting Barr because you don't contrast with McSame. You aren't voting Nader since he's left of O.

Ergo f-wit, you are supporting McSame but you can't even say why...............

Move along you f-ing sad sack and let the adults chat.

[GaBu]

Lib logic point # 334

See above post by "that one"

[peacekitten]

take your meds, wash it down with a little of your homemade moonshine, go pass out somewhere safe and p1ss off.

[CBS]

More of Rove/Bush here on BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7692153.stm