He needs to describe the consequences of specific domestic policy decisions. He must explain how his proposals on energy, health care, jobs and education will make a difference for ordinary families.You think, Karl? This is like going to the cardiologist with a heart condition and him telling you to eat more vegetables right before shooing you out the door. I can count on one hand the times I've heard one of these "strategists" say something original. Maybe they save their best insights for their campaigns. Or maybe elections depend on, you know, the actual candidate.
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From the department of Monkeys with Typewriters
07 Aug 2008 03:48 pm
I don't have much hate in my reservoir for Karl Rove. Still it amazes me that people like him actually makes money saying things like, "to win, Mr. McCain must also make a compelling case for electing John McCain." Or better yet:
Comments (19)
Ta-Nehisi, I agree with you on this one. I have sworn off campaign coverage for this very reason. I just don't understand why precious minutes of my life should be spent dissecting comparisons of Paris Hilton and any politician. Analysts, mainstream media, pundits -- all repeat the same tropes and truisms without deepening our understanding of the political process.
Jaybird's got a point. In this media enviroment, you'll never go broke by pointing out the soul-numbingly obvious.
One more piece of evidence for my theory that Karl Rove is trying to throw the election just because he feels like it. McCain's campaign cannot, repeat cannot be about how McCain's policies on health care and whatnot affect ordinary people, because his policy proposals are terrible.
This is like going to the cardiologist with a heart condition and him telling you to eat more vegetables right before shooing you out the door.
My wife went to the doctor because she was unable to sleep properly for weeks. After doing all of the routine tests, they came back with a diagnosis: she had insomnia.
Thanks doc.
(Yes, it sounds silly, but it actually happened).
He needs to describe the consequences of specific domestic policy decisions. He must explain how his proposals on energy, health care, jobs and education will make a difference for ordinary families.
I agree with SDM. McCain's policies are losers in most (all?) of these categories. Toss in his views on the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, Social Security, taxes, etc. and it's obvious that he has a losing hand. Still, he can't discard too much because the GOP base will destroy him if he does. He's stuck between pissing off the right-wingnuts or pissing off the independents.
As a result, watch for the McCain campaign to studiously avoid anything substantive and, instead, attack Obama with stupid ads (Paris Hilton ... who, amusingly, made McCain her bee-yatch), misrepresenting facts (troop visits), and outright lies (that his entire energy policy is based upon tire pressure).
John S. McCain. The "S" stands for "sleaze".
Damn it Jaybird, I was just about to make that John Madden comparison. I will say though, that while John Madden is just kind of goofy, Karl Rove is pretty much unmitigated evil, which kind of dampens the hilarity of his commentating.
Not to defend either Karl Rove, or "strategists" in general (I think there was some discussion recently about how meaningless that term really is, when used by the media) but their jobs can be pretty difficult - and yeah, they do save the good stuff for the paying clients :)
Having worked on campaigns, I've seen the kind of help they bring. They make tricky calls on sensitive stuff - is constituency X going to be offended by the wording in this appeal to constituency Y - and are often, though I assume not always, freakin smart people to consult with.
But in general, the consultancy-industrial complex is pretty bloated and ridiculous. These are smart people with valuable advice, who get paid way too much money too often for services that aren't -that- important, relative to all kinds of other factors.
You know how you only see 10% of the iceberg above the water? Karl Rove's bullshit columns are like that. The bland advice is what's public; the ratfucking that actually tries to sink campaigns takes place below the surface. Rove knows that column is moronic and utterly insincere as well as we do. The idea is just to *say* that McCain's awful or non-existent policy positions are good for the country. Meanwhile, he and his minions are working overtime to make the election actually about Obama's coke-fueled gay orgies where he rapes white girls while facing Mecca, for Satan.
Jamelle, you have to understand, when you're throwing a pass as a quarterback, you have to try to get it to your receiver while the receiver is trying to get to where you can throw the ball!
Note to Ta-Nehisi: First troll to be banned, Floridaian.
So two people beat me to the John Madden comparison, and I thought I was going to be original. Frank Caliendo does a great bit on Madden.
Football cliches I hate are "whoever controls the trenches will win" or "whatever team scores last is going to win this one".
On the political side, I always hated this explaination of a loss:"We failed to communicate our message effectively".
I can get a good hate going for Rove. It generally involves hoping he ends up behind bars being traded for cigarettes, but that's probably too much to hope for.
Perhaps I'm just not very gracious, but I almost don't see how it's possible to refrain from hating Karl Rove. I know Republicans who hate him for he's done to their party. For me, what he's done to the country (and the world) is reason enough.
My feelings are no doubt exacerbated by the MSM's decision to give him a complete pass.
I don't have much hate in my reservoir for Karl Rove.
You must have the smallest hate reservoir in the storied history of hate reservoirs.
But Rove is definitely a genius. George Bush, Jr. received more than 15% of the legitimate popular vote in two national elections. Ergo, Rove is a genius.
@Jaybird - Hilarious.
@Ta-Nehisi - You see, the best thing about Karl Rove is that he looks evil. He's short, corpulent, greasy looking bastard. How could you not hate him?
I agree with Cole Moore Odell. The WSJ and Fox gigs are the bland "I'm not really the devil" stuff he needs to do right now. It's the stuff not for public consumption that will get him the big power rides. He's just cashing checks, trying to look like he's just another mope pundit right now.
Oh, and to me, Tim McCarver set the bar so high, not even Madden can get close.
That's all these blowhards *ever* say. Candidates and parties pay them because "it's not their money" in any personal way, except when the candidate is so wealthy that it may *be* their money but they'll never notice it's gone.
You need *some* expertise to run a successful campaign: GOTV strategists (logisticians, basically), good writers, good vetters, et al. But I've never seen compelling evidence that you need a strategist, in the commonly-understood sense.
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The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Have you ever seen John Madden call a football game?
Posted by Jaybird | August 7, 2008 3:59 PM