Was the NK nuke test Rove's Oct. surprise?

[Ned_Devine]

Probably not what he had in mind, but watch them spin it in their favor. Ignorant Americans hate facts and love slogans and blaming others. Just watch...

[AX10]

1. It makes Bush look weak. This happened on his watch.

Clinton was able to keep NK calm.

[mn9driver]

3. But it will give him cover to act strong

in that chimp-like way that we've become so familiar with. If GOP numbers don't show a bounce in the next poll cycle, we can expect a few bombs to be dropped on the evildoers. His base will eat it up. Hopefully the rest of the country is done buying it.

[Lilith Velkor]

2. Ignorant Americans think Karl Rove controls the planet

...and post bollocks about October surprises. Ugh.

[Ned_Devine]

5. what kills me...

is when they go to John f**king Bolton for commentary as if he is a legitimate UN rep. I think before any newscaster palys his sound byte, they should refer to him as the "recess appointed UN ambassador John Bolton"

[baldingrockwarlord2]

6. I have to agree...

I mean, sure, noone can take away the talent that bastard Rove has brought to this Cabal, but he is not responsible for the sun rising and falling and everything else. It gets old after a while. How could anybody possibly think Rove had any influence in a NK nuke test? Where do people get this stuff, and can I smoke some, please? It must be awesome stuff.

[Ned_Devine]

9. I wasn't saying the test was Rove's plan...

All I was saying is that he'll use this as their October surprise to claim that the GOP are the only ones to keep us safe now...or worse yet, use it as a way to shut down the government due to nuclear crisis and abort the midterms

[Swede Atlanta]

4. Dems need to use this fact in their favor

The Republicans will try to claim this demonstrates the need for a strong defense and that the only party that can protect Americans from Korean nuclear capability (at this point lobbing nuclear Kim Chee) is to vote for them.

The dems MUST point out that under Clinton the Korean nuclear arms program was stabilized. I watched an interview tonight with one of Clinton's negotiators with North Korea and she made clear that had this happened on a Democrat's watch, the approach would have been much tougher.

But Bush's foreign policy is a failure. His "cowboy from Texas" attitude has been a disaster. He took his eye off the ball with failing to capture Bin Laden with his ill-fated foray into Iraq. His approach to North Korea as part of the Axis of Evil was similarly misplaced. North Korea is hard pressed. They are a regime on the brink of collapse. Their people are starving. Rather than enter into direct negotiations, as Clinton did, they ignored them. The regime in PyongYang is desparate. Desparate people will do desparate things. This whole thing could have been avoided or at least slowed if Washington had passed the first grade.

[Ned_Devine]

11. I think they can, if they can just be heard

[Seen the light]

7. Definitely, everyone knows that Karl Rove runs North Korea

[MrModerate]

8. FAILURE, FAILURE, FAILURE, your name is Bush . . .

Even his base is debased.

He can't "just drop a few bombs" to get them back, because Kim Jong Il is crazy enough -- and the Pentagon knows it (and Cheney and Rumsfeld) -- to annihilate Seoul immediately thereafter (with conventional weapons, already sited in) and then invade with his threadbare but million-plus-strong army.

It would be a disaster beyond any already laid at Bush's door, and the adults in charge won't let him do it.

[nevergiveup]

10. I agree with you

Chimpy has few options on this one. In two weeks everyone will be talking about Iraq again or possibly another new Republican scandal. The only thing Chimpy and his party have going for them is lots and lots of cash and this should not be taken lightly.