WP: Rove Trims Sails but Steers for Victory

[kskiska]

Sunday, October 17, 2004; Page A01

A few months before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Karl Rove held clinics for White House officials in which he laid out what amounted to his early game plan for reelecting President Bush in 2004: improving the party's performance among blacks, Hispanics, Catholics, union households and "wired workers" of the technology world.

Bush won about 8 percent of the African American vote in 2000, and Rove insisted that number needed to be pushed higher.

(snip)

Those PowerPoint presentations in the infancy of Bush's presidency were an early indication that, although his 2000 campaign had many architects, Rove alone among staffers would bear ultimate credit or blame for the outcome of the 2004 election.

Back then, Rove did not strive simply to produce a convincing victory but to create a permanent Republican majority.

Now, a little more than two weeks before the election, the Bush-Cheney campaign would be happy to eke out the barest, skin-of-the-teeth GOP majority, and aims to cobble it together by turning out every last evangelical Christian, gun owner, rancher and home schooler -- reliable Republicans all. It looks like the opposite of Rove's original dream.

At this point, Bush would have to defy history to win reelection, since polls show the incumbent in a dead-even race and that a majority of voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Facing those bleak facts, well-known Republicans are quietly wondering whether Rove's luck has finally run out. So far, most believe he will wind up making a winner of a troublesome hand that he largely dealt himself.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38684-2004Oct16.html

[Dem2theMax]

1. May he steer them all straight into the rocks.

And then hell. :evilgrin:

[NMDemDist2]

2. he's been knocked back on his heels

what works in Texas won't play in Peoria (thank heavens)

[demgrrrll]

3. A bad 47 days. That would have been a remark made before the

debates. Bet Rove thinks things are really ugly now. All they have left is their rock solid base. I don't think he can pull this one out.

[grasswire]

4. did you read that article...

...from Atlantic Monthly about how Rove steals elections? We weren't told in 2000 that he had already taken an election loss all the way to the Supreme Court and prevailed through dirty tricks and thuggery.

I believe Rove has already given up on winning the popular vote and intends to keep the WH through chicanery after Nov. 2.

[demgrrrll]

10. I did and I was thinking along the same lines. This could be why he is

floating that "must be 4 points ahead to win" trial balloon.
In my opinion he needs to be 7 points ahead because the undecideds are going to break for Kerry. I believe what he means is 4 points will be close enough to steal. The stage is being set for accusations regarding the new registrations. If he does not win legitimately his attorneys will go after the new registrations for clerical errors.
Another area of concern is the military vote which I believe could be manipulated. The trial balloon there is the article detailing Bush's support from the military. I also read that there is an oversampling of officers in the reported polls. Nothing is done without a long term reason or goal. Set ups for post election spin. Obviously there are myriad other ways they can suppress the vote. Nothing will be off the table. They are without conscience. I still think Kerry will prevail I just do not think they are going out easily, I see them hanging on to the drapes with the American people pulling on their feet to get them out the door.

[rob parrish]

7. Soft Republicans

I've been saying this to friends for months, now I'll be bold and put it in print. I think there are lots of Republicans that have figured out that Bush is terrible. They aren't letting on, but when the curtain to the booth closes, they are going Kerry.

I actually know some TX natural gas execs that are going for Kerry.

I hope I'm right.

[cliss]

14. I"m seeing this, too.

At some point, for the higher-ups, "protecting" their money isn't enough. The president of our company, who makes $100,000+ per year, has decided to 'dump Bush'. He sent an email to all the employees that he feels that things have changed drastically in these past 4 years. Our freedoms have eroded.

He feels that whatever 'good' has come from the Evil Ones is just not worth it.

[acmavm]

8. I've never been able to understand why people think KKKarl is such a

genius. The only thing he has going for him is his total lack of decency. He's the master of lies and deceit. That doesn't necessarily equate with intelligence, but it does show that his character is such that civilized society would normally expect a person like him generally to be residing in a prison cell somewhere. He has at least been consistent in showing that there is no sleezy underhanded trick that he doesn't have a qualm about stooping to. The 'Christian Conservative' is served by a totally amoral slime ball. Apparently that's not a problem for bush* though. Not as long as he gets elected.

[belle]

12. Right.

[antonialee839]

13. Amen to that. Rove is a total ratbag.

and dems better be watching him like a hawk for the next 2 weeks.

[DemFromMem]

5. He's a little busy with a grand jury investigation right now...

Wouldn't it be great if we got an indictment in the Plame affair before election day?

[DemFromMem]

6. He's a little busy with a grand jury investigation right now...

Wouldn't it be great if we got an indictment in the Plame affair before election day?

[young_at_heart]

9. I keep hoping "good" will triumph over "evil"

These last four years have caused me to almost give up hope that the good guys will win, but I'm praying that this person finally gets his due!

[VegasWolf]

11. LBN: Rove jumps ship to Kerry campaign, apologizes for all the lies.

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[xxqqqzme]

15. tempature in hell

plummets to -10!

[StupidFOX]

16. Rove told Hell to turn down the thermostat...

He likes it as cold as his heart