[QUOTE=astorian]
As always, the Left gives Rove waaaaaaaaay too much credit.
What did Karl Rove ever accomplish that ANY semi-competent strategist couldn’t/wouldn’t have?
Start with Bush’s election as governor. Bush was a likable guy with a conservative record and a modrate image. He had 100% name recognition, because of his Dad. He was a Republican in a tate that had turned overwhelmingly Republican long before he came along (if Clayton Williams hadn’t been such a dolt, and hadn’t kept saying stupid, offensive things, Ann Richards would have been slaughtered 4 years earlier).
With all that going for him, George W. Bush could have won in a cakewalk with ANY campaign manager! He didn’t NEED a genius to make him governor.
And once he was governor of Texas… once again, he became the logical front-runner for the GOP nomination. I know I’ll be repeating myself, but look at all Bush’s strengths:
- He had a famous name, and 100% name recognition.
- He was governor of one of the largest states of the Union.
- He had a conservative record and a moderate image.
- He was a likable guy.
That alone would have made him the man to beat in the GOP primaries in 2000. It didn’t take a genius to win him the nomination!
Now, once Bush had the nomination, the election looked like a toss-up to practically everybody. I was sure it would be a squeaker, as were most observers.
If Rove were a genius, Bush would have done MUCH better than he did. If Rove were a genius, Bush would have won at LEAST one state where the Republicans usually have no chance.
So quick, name me a state Bush won that NEVER/ALMOST NEVER goes Republican.
Answer: there WEREN’T any such states. Bush solely won by carrying states that are always/usually Republican strongholds. ANY decent campaign manager could have accomplished that.
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Maybe any decent political adviser could have made Bush Governor or President, but winning the 2004 election took some serious skill. The shift toward extreme conservatism should have died in 2004, when it was apparent that tax cuts weren’t helping us, abstinence education was causing more anal sex and the administration has repeatedly lied about the situation in Iraq.
Instead it lasted two more years, and thats only because of the GOP and Rove could not spin Katrina, government phone taps, and the civil war breaking out in Iraq.