Rove: Kerry Has Taste of Bush Campaign

[bluedog]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040317/ap_on_el_pr/rove_bush_campaign_2



WASHINGTON - White House political chief Karl Rove said Wednesday that President Bush (news - web sites) had just begun to demonstrate the kind of targeted, multi-front campaign he plans against Democratic rival John Kerry (news - web sites).





Addressing a small group of conservative activists, Rove assured them that Bush planned a nimble campaign able to counterpunch even before Kerry opens his mouth. The White House adviser pointed with pride to the Bush camp's response Tuesday, when it got word that Kerry planned a national security speech to veterans in West Virginia.


snip

snip

Kerry's vote authorizing force in Iraq (news - web sites), and on an array of military issues, put him "in a box" on the Iraq war, minimizing his ability to criticize Bush, Rove told the conservatives in the private meeting.

must read more

[lancdem]

1. No surprises here

[sallyseven]

2. Rove is a roaring

a..hole. Lets get him. Even 10.00 to Kerry is better than nothing.

[bluedog]

3. not all

roves men not all his money can put the liar back together again.hey rove...........the debates.someone check the liars ear for a mic and check his sleeves.you piece of shi*

[Cat Atomic]

4. Pbbt. This is a "genius"? Bring it on, moron.

[mhr]

5. It Will Be Hard To Beat A 250 Million Dollar Campaign Re-selection Machine

These folks have the money to buy the manpower, organization, research and media to convince all sheeple that * literally is the second coming of Christ.

[Dr Fate]

10. Hard, yes. But not impossible.

I've seen great signs so far, that Kerry is a freight train that keeps rolling...

With help from all of us grass-roots DEMS, we have a damn good, fighting chance...

[Junkdrawer]

21. And sometimes, that money can cost support...

Witness the 'exploit the corpse' fiasco.

[neverborn]

28. Blair Hull was favored by a lot in IL for a while..

until the media did to him what the media did to Clinton.

Pure BS :(

but yeah, proof money doesn't always buy votes.

[FlemingsGhost]

6. "Pride cometh before the fall."

Your fall will be epic, Karl.

[gasperc]

7. bush's is in his own box

and to say the gay marriage amendment is starting to help him, I mean jeez louise, using a whole group of people as your "whipping boy" to get re-elected where's the morality in that?

and unemployment was at the same % as in 1996, bullshit, the country was creating jobs and far, far fewer people were not underemployed as they are now. That unemployment % number is way off base.

[Gloria]

8. Is that a threat??? This SOB needs to get his fat little head stomped

on....

Darn, I want Clark out there...we need both barrels firing against these scumbags.....

[Dr Fate]

9. Well, Rove was wrong about Kerry's response...

I saw the speech today and I did not see a man who was boxed in what-so-ever.

In fact, I saw a fighting DEM like I have not seen in a while. He covered every in and out of the issues at hand.

Rove is "leaking" these statements as a form of deception- dont buy it folks.

Kerry is confusing this bunch who all convinced each other he is Dukakis...

[lancdem]

12. I have no doubt Rove authorized this "leak," as you say

probably to try to convince conservatives the WH is back on its game. We'll see.

[CatWoman]

18. agreed

that Kerry "box" is a figment of Rove's imagination.

[Malva Zebrina]

11. I hate to be so negative, but it is true

Kerry did vote for the war and to give Bush a blank check. Compare to Robert Byrd, just about the only one that saw it for what it was <sigh>

But we now have Kerry and I think he made a big mistake in voting for that war as I think all of the Democrats who did vote for it made a mistake.

Maybe we, As Americans, are stuck with empire now. Maybe, for all we know, although it is not what we want or desire for our country, all of our Dem representatives in the congress DO want empire and are willing to use the military to keep building it. I saw Bush for the creepy warmonger he was and so did Robert Byrd. Why did not those closer to the scene than myself, not see it?

So now we have a weakened candidate with a vulnerable spot--Bush is running practically exclusively on the war in Iraq and the war on terror. How many millions were in the streets protesting the war? All over the country? They were NOT Republicans, that is for sure. And now, they are stuck with a candidate that actually voted for the war. It makes no sense to me, unless people who voted in the primaries did not realize that Kerry was the hawk that he is.

This is not a strong position. It may snowball to greater proportions if Kerry does not stop playing cautious politics in favor of truth, strength and directness in the challenges to Bush.

He cannot challenge Bush on the war, cause he voted for it. so--what is his challenge in view of the fact that we will be treated daily for eight months to the glorification of Bush and the glorification of war and soldiers and 911, and Saddam and more war and more soldiers and more freedom and bravery and more romanticizing of war and killing? Bush will appear in photos with golden halos around his head. He is, after all, the "war president"

Good luck Kerry

[lancdem]

13. I think he can challenge Bush on the war

Most Americans supported it, but a lot have come to hold serious reservations about it. Someone who voted against the war would've been more vulnerable, IMO.

[Dr Fate]

15. Exactly. It's unrealistic to say people cant modify their positions...

Most of my relatives who supported Bush have certainly modified their positions.

Look at your neighbors- people who once supported the war now do not. It's not an uncommon feeling among Americans...

These voters are not going to hold this against Kerry- so long as he continues to define himself...

[Dr Fate]

14. No, he can, has, and will continue to challenge Bush on defense...

...Where are you getting this?

Have you not been listening to the man?

He challenged Bush on almost every issue concerning Iraq in his speech today...

You need to clear your mind and give up this bias against Kerry- listen to the man- he IS challenging Bush on Iraq...

[Malva Zebrina]

16. I am trying--did he not say Spain should not pull out of Iraq?

Did he not vote to give Bush a blank check to invade Iraq?

Those are the facts. All I am doing is trying to sort it out and trying to form in my mind what disadvantages Kerry will encounter.

Kerry voted for the war. Sure people change their minds, but Kerry is now vulnerable because he did sanction Bush's actions. That is what I am trying to say. Did he take it back? I don't think so. Does he appear to be a dove now? I don't think so.

I am getting this from my own common sense and from the facts. You cannot change the fact that Kerry voted for the war and that he now is in a sticky position becasue of that. Bush is running almost exclusively on the war and terror--Kerry is now limited in his ability to criticize that pre-emptive war. He voted to let Bush do it.

That is where I am getting it from--the facts.

Of course he will challange Bush as best he can. He is the opponent. I would expect him to--I am only pointing out the weakness as a matter of reality--and that weakness is that he must accept the war Bush waged pre emptively because he approved of it--therefore, he cannot run on an anti-war platform now, even though it has been proven that Bush lied tens of times. Kerry is limited here. But it is a hot topic and should be the prime hot topic for the challenger. But it cannot be with Kerry.

It would be delicious if we had a candidate who did not approve of this war--they would be free to point out all the errors in judgement Bush made as well as question his judgement and morality. That will not be the case with Kerry.

Just the fact, ma'am

[Dr Fate]

19. A sticky position with who?

Republicans? No.

Other people who were also "fooled" into thinking there might be some WMDs of some kind? No.

Democrats & Liberals? I should hope we are more strategic than that! Kerry is the nominee, for crying out loud.

And Kerry has never supported pulling out of Iraq. He said today that that would cause another breeding ground for terrorists, just like Poppy Bush did in Afghanistan...

[Malva Zebrina]

31. I knew it was lie and so did millions like me

I do not buy it that people more educated and experienced in politics than myself could not see what I saw. Period. I will always believe that this vote was a political maneuver--Robert Byrd especially, as well as Barbara Lee, are my heroed on this as well as the other handfuls who voted against it, and not Kerry. He played it safe, imo. Frankly I am a little tired of obfuscation adn playing politics here. We have had eneough of it. I want to know . I want to know what Kerry is going to do and I want to know up front with facts and with credibility. I know it is not the popular thing to say, but I never was a cheerleader for a leader, blindly following without questioning anything that focus of adoration says. Question everything.

[Sparkly]

25. Bushies lied about WMD

Read Kerry's remarks when he voted.

Should he have known the intel was phony? Should he have known Bush wasn't going to do what he said he would, but instead would botch the international effort and rush headlong into Iraq? Maybe -- but A LOT of people were misled.

Why should Kerry be faulted for voting for the IWR in a contest with the Chimp who pimped the lies? Kerry's worst mistake was believing the Chimp. Keep the heat on BUSH!

[Pobeka]

27. Ding ding ding! Grand Prize!

:thumbsup:

Welcome to DU Sparkly!
:hi:

[creeksneakers2]

17. Rove only sees

the whole election as a mudslinging contest. It isn't.

Issues will matter more. On the issues, Bush is the one who has boxed himself in.

Bush has tied himself to war as a strategy to fight terrorism. If we'd caught 20 terrorists in Iraq that would be $10 billion and 25 lives per terrorist. This is not a sustainable strategy. Its not one that can be sold once the public gets around to looking at it.

Bush has gone almost completely in the unilateralist direction to contrast with Kerry. Polls show that Americans favor multilateralism over unilateralism two to one.

Bush is implying that the world is against us, and the world should be dealt with as adversaries. Al Queda is in 60 countries. Bush will not be able to explain how we can deal with Al Queda without international cooperation.

Bush has ruled himself out as willing to raise taxes to balance the budget. Americans prefer tax raises to deficits two to one.

Over the next eight months the public will get tired of all this mudslinging. Then Bush will lose on the issues.

[Kimber Scott]

20. Another case of "Shock and Awe"

Didn't work before and it won't work now.

[opihimoimoi]

22. Kerry can counter with the Big Picture.

Bush is good for War, Debts, Red Ink spending, fixing friends, Fear, Pain, and flip flopping/reneging. Its about BUSH not Kerry. What signs has Bush shown thus far? What positive signs? The Big Picture shows he is a show off, uncaring, selfish, vindictive, liar, and slow reaction type. He can hardly tell a joke w/o blowing the lines. OOps.
He does not read papers, gets his news spoon fed. I don't know of any real books he read. He is pathetic.

Kerry will kick his ass.

Watch for Bush to duck any real debate... where the questions are tough and nonpartisan. Where the answers must come from a quick and able mind.

[chookie]

24. "Bring It On!" is good, but...

perhaps exposing His Chimperial Majesty's Grand Strategy:
"Who do you believe -- ME -- or your own eyes?"

may work better.

Opihimoimoi -- I am saving the last dance at the Kerry Inaugural Ball for you, if you will so honor me.

[opihimoimoi]

29. I am honored and shining the dancing shoes as I type, LOL

[chookie]

23. He's got big jackboots to fill!

Heck -- sane people thought we'd seen the end of Facists after the mess they made leading to WWII -- but Karl and the flying monkeys seems to be out of the loop. Mr Rove operates in the same fashion as Herr Goebbels, and for ein Fuhrer of the same type. What a surprise. (not)

Karl -- we have anticipated this nastiness. John Kerry declares "Bring It On!" -- and we are standing shoulder to shoulder beside him. We are the New New New Democrats -- no more submissive peeing -- we bite bastards.

You have left a thick trail of lies for years that leads right to this White House. You've made it easy for us....

Gee, Karl, beside homophobia -- just what exactly do you have as a reason to vote for your trained monkey this time?

[drfemoe]

26. Ugh .. saw chaingang on tv

giving a campaign speech today <shivers>. The whole misadministration is in on it and are trying to make dub's election look like a national emergency!! I'll say!

But when they do this >>
Less than 24 hours after learning of the speech, the Bush campaign produced an ad criticizing Kerry for his Senate votes on military spending. It also dispatched volunteers to hand out pro-Bush material to West Virginians, and started radio ads in the state.


The Bush campaign has material ready to go on Kerry based on his votes and speeches, said a Republican who attended the session. Whenever Kerry raises an issue, the Bush-Cheney campaign will be prepared to hand out leaflets, and run ads on TV and radio.


they are spending half their $$ promoting Kerry. Remember Pepsi/Coke challenge? If you repeat your competition's name over and over .. wait Kerry did that and he won.

It can still be good for our side, though can't it? Can't this spin both ways??? Please??

[mitchum]

30. Call me monstrous

call me callous
call me inhuman
I wish that goddamn Rove would DROP DEAD. I despise the piggish motherfucker.

flame away...it's MY soul