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Rove Gives Advice On Beating the Democrats
Karl Rove, a man George W. Bush calls “the architect,” has been giving advice to several of the candidates this year, including advice for how Obama could beat Hillary Clinton. He now has a piece out about beating the Democrats in November. In regards to Clinton:
Specifically, Rove hit Clinton for what could have been her worst campaign moment last year, when she had trouble answering a question about driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants at the Democratic debate in Philadelphia.
“You know, Sen. Clinton [has] got a problem with giving straight answers in this campaign,” Rove said. “I thought that was an incredible moment. In the course of 15 minutes, I counted her giving about four different answers.”
The Bush confidant also trotted out one of the lines of attack the RNC has already been working feverishly against Clinton, questioning why she and former President Bill Clinton will not release records from their time in the White House. This, according to Rove, “raises legitimate questions about what she’s hiding.”
Pertaining to Obama:
Rove made it clear that most Republican attacks on Obama would focus on his “accomplishments and experience.”
“He got elected three years ago, and he [has] spent almost the entire time running for president,” Rove said.
Rove added that Obama has only passed one piece of legislation during his time in the U.S. Senate, and during his time in Illinois state Senate, Obama had “an unusual habit” of voting “present” instead of yes or no.
Rove also said that nonpartisan ratings show that Obama is more liberal than Clinton, which he said is “pretty hard to do.”
Advice specifically to the Republicans:
Rove also offered advice to whichever Republican candidate wins the GOP nomination.
He said the candidates had to first “create a sustaining narrative about themselves.” Then he said the candidate should “immediately engage” on the “kitchen table issues,” like healthcare, education, jobs and the economy.
Third, Rove said the GOP nominee has to show that he is serious about campaigning “aggressively in places where Republicans don’t usually campaign.” Rove said that includes among black, Latino, Asian and union voters.
“We’re going for everybody,” Rove said.
Lastly, Rove argued that the Republican candidate must show the electorate “that they understand the surge is working.” Rove said the candidate should get firmly behind the war effort, painting the Democratic nominee as “defeatist.”
Take a look at the rest of the article. Whether you like him or not, I don’t think you can argue that Rove certainly played a major influence in Bush being elected.
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January 19th, 2008 at 5:17 pm