One of the things that still cracks me up is the idea that Karl Rove is some sort of eeeevil genius, the mastermind, Bush's brain. Well, here's a passage from the Washington Post (hat tip Hugh Hewitt) that seems to call that into serious question:
Rove said that when he and Bush first talked about a reelection strategy in December 2002, the president, anticipating a race that resembled 2000 in its closeness, laid out a series of requests. He wanted a strategy designed to enlarge GOP majorities in the House and Senate, not what he called a "lonely victory." He wanted more emphasis on grass-roots volunteers. And he told Rove he wanted a campaign about big things and big issues, not "mini ball," and finally said he wanted to leave the Republican Party "stronger, broader and better."Hmmm. Sounds like Bush's brain is... Bush's brain. And he sure got what he knew he needed, didn't he? He didn't get a lonely victory, he had the big ideas, he got the grassroots volunteers (I was one of the millions of them).
No question, Karl Rove is perhaps the smartest, winningest political strategist out there. But I happen to think that President Bush is one of the smartest, wisest, most honorable Presidents we've ever had. Articles like this one from the NYT help to make the case that he's smart, and most likely smarter than his vanquished opponent, Kerry. Articles like the one I cited above show that he's not just taking orders from Karl Rove.
1 comment:
I think Bush is smart too, but what really distinguished him from the Doomed Democrat, is that he is genuine. And if Rove is a genius, it's in recognizing Bush's character and letting that be the basis of his campaign. And for that matter, the Bush campaign just put Laura Bush out there as is and let her be herself.
The post-mortem on Kerry shows a campaign where the rich, elistist, east coast liberal was trying to come off as regular guy while screaming at aids about a lost hair brush. And his campaign was trying to figure out what to do with his abrasive loony spouse.
Rove is as sharp strategist but so are Joe Lockhart and James Carville. The difference is that they didn't have as much to work with this time around.
TJS
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