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Karl Rove, the man formerly known as "Bush's Brain," has seen fit to insert himself into the race for the Democratic nomination. In an Op-Ed for the Financial Times, Mr. Rove offers Barack Obama a few words of advice on how to defeat his rival, Hillary Clinton. This must come as a surprise to those, including Hillary, who have assumed that Rove wants the New York senator as the nominee due to her perceived vulnerability in the general election. So what nuggets of Rovian wisdom has Karl offered Barack? For starters:
Not that you have asked for advice, but here it is anyway: Iowa is your chance to best her.
Other incisive observations from the semi-retired brain include blockbuster revelations that casual observers might have gleaned from reading the newspaper:
The good news is you have again got "the buzz." Polls are looking better for you in Iowa and the other early states.
Then it's back to the advice that money cannot buy (Well, I suppose it could be bought, but because it is so patently obvious to any person with even a modicum of political instinct, you'd have to be a fool to do so). First directive: Get tough. Play mean :
First, stop acting like a vitamin-deficient Adlai Stevenson. Striking a pose of being high-minded and too pure will not work.
Yes, come to the dark side, Young Obama. There lies your destiny! Second on Rove's check-list is to tap into Democratic voters' fears that Hillary is unelectable. Third is a priceless throwaway:
Third, when you create controversies do not pick issues where you are playing the weaker hand.
Right. Weak hands lose card games. Check. Fourth: Say what you mean and mean what you say. Fifth: do better at telling people what broken things you're going to fix. The sixth (and, mercifully, the final) point of light: Kill her softly.
Sixth, find a way to gently belittle her whenever she tries to use disagreements among Democrats as an excuse to complain about being picked on.
There you have it. The sure-fire primer on how to chop Hillary Clinton down to size. Of course, given Obama's recent surge ahead of Hillary in Iowa, one wonders how on earth the kid from Chicago managed pull it off since Rove's comments were only published this past Sunday. I smell conspiracy. A leaked copy of the remarks, perhaps.
Maybe "the brain" is slipping a bit. That happens with age. The same week that he penned his Hillary strategy, he went on television to claim that it was the Democrats who'd rushed us into the Iraq war, not his former boss. Of course, that maneuver happens to break his third piece of advice to Obama: When you create controversies do not pick issues where you are playing the weaker hand.
Not that you have asked for advice, but here it is anyway: Iowa is your chance to best her.
Other incisive observations from the semi-retired brain include blockbuster revelations that casual observers might have gleaned from reading the newspaper:
The good news is you have again got "the buzz." Polls are looking better for you in Iowa and the other early states.
Then it's back to the advice that money cannot buy (Well, I suppose it could be bought, but because it is so patently obvious to any person with even a modicum of political instinct, you'd have to be a fool to do so). First directive: Get tough. Play mean :
First, stop acting like a vitamin-deficient Adlai Stevenson. Striking a pose of being high-minded and too pure will not work.
Yes, come to the dark side, Young Obama. There lies your destiny! Second on Rove's check-list is to tap into Democratic voters' fears that Hillary is unelectable. Third is a priceless throwaway:
Third, when you create controversies do not pick issues where you are playing the weaker hand.
Right. Weak hands lose card games. Check. Fourth: Say what you mean and mean what you say. Fifth: do better at telling people what broken things you're going to fix. The sixth (and, mercifully, the final) point of light: Kill her softly.
Sixth, find a way to gently belittle her whenever she tries to use disagreements among Democrats as an excuse to complain about being picked on.
There you have it. The sure-fire primer on how to chop Hillary Clinton down to size. Of course, given Obama's recent surge ahead of Hillary in Iowa, one wonders how on earth the kid from Chicago managed pull it off since Rove's comments were only published this past Sunday. I smell conspiracy. A leaked copy of the remarks, perhaps.
Maybe "the brain" is slipping a bit. That happens with age. The same week that he penned his Hillary strategy, he went on television to claim that it was the Democrats who'd rushed us into the Iraq war, not his former boss. Of course, that maneuver happens to break his third piece of advice to Obama: When you create controversies do not pick issues where you are playing the weaker hand.