The Moose notes that the specter of Mark Alonzo Hanna haunts the remaining days of the campaign.
Karl Rove fancies himself as the modern day embodiment of the man who made Ohio Governor William McKinley President of the United States in 1896. Rove models himself after Ohio political boss Hanna who married the money of the robber barons with McKinley's campaign as the Governor ran as a "different kind of Republican". In other words. McKinley was a Hanna-made "compassionate conservative" for the 19th century.
To give you an idea of Hanna's philosophy, here's a quote from the old master, "All questions of government in a democracy [are] questions of money."
Sound familiar?
That is why the Moose is struck by the irony that Rove's dream of a Republican realignment may rest on Ohio. And it also helps explain why the G.O.P. is planning a major voter suppression effort in that state according to a report in today's New York Times.
One other historical note - Hanna detested T.R.
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