Monday, August 13, 2007

Moby Dick Gets Away

It's all over the place.
The Earth shattering, presses stopping,Bush-damaging resignation of Karl Rove, the White Whale of The Beltway.

To tell ya the truth, I'm not even sure who/what Rove is/was.
The Democrats hated him.
Wanted him gone. Frog-Marched. Arrested. Convicted. Rove was unique in that while calling him stupid, disastrous, incompetent and whatever other evil can be ascribed to a political enemy ,they really wanted him to leave.
I been in politics. The last thing you want is an opposing strategist so stupid and incompetent that he whips your ass repeatedly.
I think, reading tween the lines, Rove must have been brilliant or else his political enemies wouldn't have tried so damn hard, by hook or crook, to get rid of him.
Rove himself said it best:

"I'm Moby Dick and we've got three or four members of Congress who are trying to cast themselves in the part of Captain Ahab," Rove said.

How flattering.

Eventually, even the GOP turned on him after the marginal losses of 06. They should be thanking him. He led them to the three-branch majority status in the first place. It's wasn't his fault they blew their own opportunities.
One thing about the life of a political strategist: Your only as good as your last election. Doesn't matter what you did for years previous. Just ask James Carville.

What this whole thing means to me is that Bush has given up his presidency.
He can't wake in the morning unless Rove is there telling him the proper way to do it. The ship of the Bush Presidency is now rudderless. George will just limp it along into any safe harbor, unable to navigate the waters of Washington.
Don't get me wrong.
I don't believe for a moment Rove was asked to leave. I think it's the other way around. Rove wanted out, and Bush, with no more fight left in him, saw no reason to ask him to stay.
Bush won't face the voters again.He has no more political intiatives left. And no base remaining to fall back on.
He's a lame duck who can't swim.

Now, the Democrats have their opportunity to pretty much frame this administration with unfettered abandon. That is, if they can find a way to lasso the minority, and unruly, GOP into compliance.

The best quote,though, came from this veteran bright light who's clearly been around a while and seen it all:

"Karl Rove was an architect of a political strategy that has left the country more divided, the special interests more powerful, and the American people more shut out from their government than any time in memory," Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said.

Wow!
Brilliant Barack. Just brilliant. You never miss a chance to say nothing, do you.

5 comments:

Andy said...

I was profoundly disappointed in today's news. I wanted this man led out of the White House in shackles, not quietly bowing out at a time that was convenient for him. I am doubly disappointed that the *master* of spin was only able to come up with, "I want to spend more time with my family." This is a man who thought it was okay to distort truths related to the security of our very nation as an election strategy. This is a man who thought it was okay to villainize and exploit his own father and the Vice President's daughter as caricatures of "threats" to America, who thought it was worthwhile to bring in the crazy vote and to actively campaign against nuanced, sensitive, reality-based governance -- often in the name of Christianity, no less. I hope his legacy is pure scorn and derision. No, actually, I hope they find a smoking gun and put the bastard in jail. Conveniently they won't be able to do that until President Obama's administration, so that he'll be in jail for at least 8 years without hope of a pardon.

Gino said...

i almost thought you were talking bout bill clinton.

Mercy Now said...

Whether you like Rove or not, he is brilliant in what he has done, getting W to the White House for 2 yrs when it didn't seem possible before then. I remember first seeing W and his speech was not impressive. His speech is still not impressive but people still voted for him. If I were to run for office, I'd definitely hire Rove.

Kal said...

The problem with the Rovian scorched-earth way of thinking is that it doesn't give anyone something to be for, just something to be against.

Vote for us, we ain't commie democrats. I think the reason Bush won in 2000 was that he was actually for something, and Gore was just not a dreaded Republican boogey-man.

Frankly, I'm happier with a rudder-less Bush presidency than the crap we've gotten over the last four years...

Gino said...

kal, that is a problem on an intellectual level, but on a real world level, you got to win to have power.
its all about power.
dont kid the folks that its all about some higher ideal.

scorched earth is the way of the left, and has been for generations. i think that is why the dems had such a personal level hate-on for rove/bush that i havent seen before in my life time. they were bested at their own game, and it hurt them deeply.

just wait til the GOP learns how to steal elections and set up precincts in cemeteries. you think the shit is bitter now? oh, boy...

when i was a begining operative(early 90's), i was all about the 'hold their nose and kick 'em in the nuts' tactics. it works.

i was a bit of a renegade among my own. the problem?: my candidates wanted to talk issues and lose, while folks like boxer dug through their trash bins and won.

so, who's pushing the agenda now?
who's controling the courts?

as strategists go... rove is a favorite of mine. as is carville.
too bad atwater is dead.
would've loved to see the atwater-carville match up in 92.