Karl Rove Channels Maureen Dowd

Say what you will about the chattering classes' inane regard for the alleged genius of Karl Rove -- it's obvious now he was a disaster for the nation and for not one but two political parties. But the one thing he did know how to do was forge devastating political takedowns, attacks that were so audacious that they often worked, in spite of -- and because of -- their absurdity and unfairness. Josh Marshall dubbed this the bitch-slap theory of electoral politics: if your opponent is strong, you attack his strength even though it might look ridiculous, betting he'll be too stunned to fight back. That way you look strong, he looks weak.

Now, however, Rove's best shots against Obama appear to be Maureen Dowd-esque riffs on the candidate's personality, which seem either made up and remote from ordinary experience -- Obama with a beautiful date, smoking, at a country club? -- or so unremarkable it's surprising he managed to get them published at all: Obama, a guy running for president, is self-centered.

www.johnmcquaid.com/blog

Comments

[werbenjagermanjensen]

It's pretty clear the subtext of Rove's comment is "You don't want him drinkin' yer likker and screwin' our wimmin, do ya?"

[jhamm1]

The only difference between Rove and Dowd is that the latter had legitimate foundations for everything she said, and thus subject a witty perforation to Hillary's overinflated ego which she richly deserved.

[cobraxus]

Karl Rove is a higher functioning auttistic with visible birth defects.He has zero-empathy and no compassion.In typical Rainman fashion he's allegedly good with numbers but can't impose a value on them(especially when those numbers represent people).He came to the attention of Bush 41 while working for the Nixon-era GOP dirty tricks squad.Sadly what was considered a cancer on the presidency of Richard Nixon is now standard operating procedure for The Republican Party.

[littlenoodles]

Maureen Dowd's career at the Times is proof that there's a market for 'catty'.

I don't know why her being a woman should be any excuse, but it seems to let her get away with the nastiest, snidest, most personal kinds of attacks.

Clever? Sometimes. But do we really need this? I'd be less offended if she would apologize now and then for her worst excesses (like to Al Gore, maybe).

[obiter]

This 23 year old from down under gets up every Wednesday and Sunday in the anticipation of getting a hit of that cattiness.
"Do we really need this?" YESSSSSS!

[NChooseK]

If anybody on the political scene today was ever the snide rich guy at the country club, it would be the current president, who is the son of inherited wealth, and the current Republican nominee, who is the son of an admiral.

The Republicans have a long history of claiming their opponents show tendencies that are in fact the Republicans' own unflattering attributes. In psychology, this is called projection, and Rove is one of the top projectionists around.

[julia06]

It's a real shame that the word "bitch-slap" has gotten so much traction in popular culture.

It's offensive to many women especially those who have been a part of domestic violence.

So why the heck is "slapping a women"-bitch slap considered fun and edgy?

[davism97]

If criminal charges aren't pressed against Rove, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, and Rice then I think we can conclude our country really is fading away. We need to set up laws that prevent incompetent (Bush) and corrupt (Rove,Cheney) fools from taking power ever again. A message needs to be sent to the entire world that America is better than this. We need to bring justice to these criminals now!

In the future every presidential nominee should be required to demonstrate extensive knowledge of American history, our constitution, and the bill of rights. This will instantly weed out incompetents like Bush.

[JiminNC]

Lets not leave Wolfowicz, Addington, Gonzolez and Muckasey out of the fun. There are others I am sure.

[Exit]

Hopefully people will see Rove for what he really is; nothing.

[LostinNOLa]

Stupidity of the American people? Extreme laziness is what we're really talking about here. Rent a copy of "A Face in the Crowd" as soon as possible. Little truths, immediately accepted, will easily conceal BIG lies that follow unnoticed. Lure them outside with a piece of candy and you can bulldoze their house right behind them. The FOX "news", Karl Rove handbook. Gas tax "holiday", drilling for oil offshore? Sure! No consequences there.

[allseasons]

There will always be a Karl Rove. I just read where Fox News has recaptured number one spot from CNN. This should tell you a great deal about the mentality of the American public. I had a dear lady tell me today at the pharmacy where she works, "I only watch Fox News because they tell me what I want to hear and how to vote." And Fox News is the primary outlet for Rove and his band of deceivers.

I fear for our Republic because of the stupidity of the American electorate.

[ErnestineBass]

The next time you run into one of these folks, do what I always do.

Burst out laughing, turn and walk away.

[serenegeezer]

Beautiful!

[LostinNOLa]

Trace the Rove lineage. An acolyte of Lee Atwater. Atwater learned everything as an aide to Strom Thurmond. Rove comes from the darkest corner of American politics. The question is- who will be the next in this line to emerge from the Rove political DNA to bring win-at-any-cost contempt for honesty into the future? And who will step forward to restore the reputations of true American heroes, people like Max Cleland, smeared by Bush-era lies?

[saxmaniac]

In the words of moovie mogul Louis B. Mayer, "you can't go wrong underestimating the American public." His Hollywood moovies deliver some of the best crap ever to hit screens across the country, and he made tons of money. Why are you surprised at Rove? He's as American as. . . as. . .Louis B. Mayer!

[NChooseK]

Not Mayer, H.L. Mencken. The quote is "No one ever lost a dime underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

[CharlieMarlowe]

except that Mayer was born in Minsk, Russia and grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick.

[moonglowsun]

Carl Rove would be labeled "a girly girl" by Arnold for the comments he's now making and has in the past. It's important to take note that Arnold has distanced himself from the group I affectionitely label the Psuedo Stooges(Rove, Cheney and Bush). Let's face it, Rove's working theory is to throw as much at the wall and see what sticks. We have the power to render him useless. We need only hit the mute button. And we can cut off his legs by doing what we would do if Chicken Little ran by yelling "the sky is falling", laugh in his face. Let's send Rove and his ilk packing by boycotting any and all publications, news programs and speaking venues he is involved in. Just like we silenced Anne Colter, we need to muzzle Rove.

[davism97]

Restricting free speech isn't the answer. The only right way to counter a wrong statement is to make a correct one. By boycotting anything he does we would make ourselves vulnerable to accusations that we don't believe in free speech. You can't empower this guy cause he'll take advantage of it.

[darcy]

Absolutely right, moonglowsun!

[Trittydi]

More Empathy?

Okay! HIt petty cash and get down to the five-and-dime .... QUICK!!
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[Trittydi]

Wow. That's exactly what he was doing. Thanks.

Okay - Maureen - you can go home now. Karl's got you covered.
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