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Thursday, June 23, 2005

The Rove Firestorm

The Moose asks whether Rove will be Durbinized?

The question of the moment is whether Karl Rove and this Administration will be taken to task for his contemptible divisive comments. Of course, his actions have always escaped accountability. The Moose wrote after last year's election,

"It has been well documented that Rove is the master of smash-mouth politics dating back to the Nixon days when he implemented dirty tricks for the College Republicans. His most notorious campaign was the vile attack on John McCain during the South Carolina primary. But that was hardly the only one - Rove's smear victims litter the landscape where ever he has tread. But all of that is ancient history for the fourth estate because Rove was the architect of the Bush victory. Nary an untoward word about his vile past is uttered. Mooseketeers should dismiss all press laments about the negative nature of contemporary campaigns as long as they go soft on Dr. Smear."

The Moose then quoted from Josh Green's excellent profile of Rove that was in the November, 2004 issue of the Atlantic,

"He [Rove] seems to understand-indeed, to count on -the media's unwillingness or inability, whether from squeamishness, laziness or professional caution, ever to give a full estimate of him or his work. It is ultimately not just Rove's skill but his character that allows him to perform on entirely different plane. Along with remarkable strategic skills, he has both an understanding of the media's unstated self-limitations and a willingness to fight in territory where conscience forbids most others."

Now that Bush's popularity is suffering there may be more willingness to question King Karl. He usually operates in the shadows. His smash-mouth persona is on full public display. Will it matter?
-- Posted at 3:15 PM | Link to this post | Email this post