# Oh yuck! A signed Karl Rove book! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603 "2010-04-19T03:58:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/1 "2010-04-19T03:58:30Z")
A Facebook friend of mine just posted a picture of a signed copy of Karl Rove’s book. It makes me feel dirty just looking at it. She used to be a nice girl in high school. Now she’s married with a new baby, and an admirer of Karl Rove. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/2 "2010-04-19T04:30:27Z")
See, it’s always the “nice girls” that turn on you in the end. That’s why you should stick to bad girls like me. I hate Karl Rove. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/3 "2010-04-19T05:02:45Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > She used to be a nice girl in high school. Now she’s married with a new baby, and an admirer of Karl Rove. What exactly is there to admire about Rove, anyway? I mean, I can understand someone who admired Bush or Cheney because they believed the policies enacted during that administration would benefit the country (I disagree, but I can see the thought process that leads to it). But I don’t recall Rove contributing to the policies. He was the good soldier, the tactician. It seems to me that to admire him is to view politics as purely a game, your side must lose so that our side may win; and to disregard the principles and consequences that are at stake. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/4 "2010-04-19T05:23:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What exactly is there to admire about Rove, anyway? I mean, I can understand someone who admired Bush or Cheney because they believed the policies enacted during that administration would benefit the country (I disagree, but I can see the thought process that leads to it). > > But I don’t recall Rove contributing to the policies. He was the good soldier, the tactician. It seems to me that to admire him is to view politics as purely a game, your side must lose so that our side may win; and to disregard the principles and consequences that are at stake. It’s funny you should mention consequences. The full title of the book is _Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight_. ETA: I just realized that my syntax in the OP could be confusing. Being married with a new baby is fine for a “nice girl” to do. I was lamenting her choice of heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/5 "2010-04-19T07:31:24Z")
It would seem she’s a lucky one ( **cough** ), as [Karl has been having issues on the tour](http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/0416/More-trouble-for-Karl-Rove-on-his-book-tour). ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/6 "2010-04-19T13:38:40Z")
Well, maybe she just needed something to wipe her ass with. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/7 "2010-04-19T14:25:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What exactly is there to admire about Rove, anyway? I mean, I can understand someone who admired Bush or Cheney because they believed the policies enacted during that administration would benefit the country (I disagree, but I can see the thought process that leads to it). > > But I don’t recall Rove contributing to the policies. He was the good soldier, the tactician. It seems to me that to admire him is to view politics as purely a game, your side must lose so that our side may win; and to disregard the principles and consequences that are at stake. Interesting. How do you feel about James Carville or David Axelrod? Carville has written some books (seems like eight in all, written or co-written). How do you feel about the people who bought them? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/8 "2010-04-19T14:29:31Z")
I think Rove is worthy of some admiration. He’s been a pretty effective political figure for the right for a little while now. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/9 "2010-04-19T17:57:34Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Interesting. How do you feel about James Carville or David Axelrod? About the same. > [@](#): > > Carville has written some books (seems like eight in all, written or co-written). How do you feel about the people who bought them? It depends; do the people buying his books say that they admire him? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/10 "2010-04-19T18:36:22Z")
I have a Donald Rumsfeld doll but I don’t think that my buying it on clearance put any money in his pocket. And who knows, maybe my leaving it to gather dust on the shelf and occasionally giving it the evil eye may have helped to get him to quit. If only I had been able to find a Bush doll! So don’t judge your friend too harshly, maybe she needs something with his DNA or signature in order to perform the ritual to send him back to hell. But, then again if she really does admire him then there is no hope for her. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/11 "2010-04-19T19:45:33Z")
So, can you read the read signature pretty clearly, even though it was signed with the tears of orphan children? Perhaps he threw in some Cthulhu ink to darken it up. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/12 "2010-04-19T20:01:43Z")
> [@](#): > > I think Rove is worthy of some admiration. He’s been a pretty effective political figure for the right for a little while now. Okay. Why do you admire Rove? What are his accomplishments? Even if you think the Bush administration was one success after another, it wasn’t Rove doing any of it. Rove didn’t enact any laws. He didn’t run any departments. His role basically was to help other people get elected - but those people were the ones who then went on to do things. So what exactly did Rove personally do that would make him worthy of admiration? ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/13 "2010-04-19T20:08:22Z")
When I heard about Karl Rove’s book signing tour, I considered showing up with a different book (preferably written by a liberal) and tricking him into signing that one instead. But I couldn’t think of a title that was ironic enough. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/14 "2010-04-19T20:32:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay. Why do you admire Rove? What are his accomplishments? Even if you think the Bush administration was one success after another, it wasn’t Rove doing any of it. Rove didn’t enact any laws. He didn’t run any departments. His role basically was to help other people get elected - but those people were the ones who then went on to do things. > > So what exactly did Rove personally do that would make him worthy of admiration? Well, he did help with population control by eating all those puppies and kittens and washing them down with all that babies blood. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/15 "2010-04-19T22:01:18Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > It’s funny you should mention consequences. The full title of the book is _Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight_. What consequence, a cushy $165K job working for the government and whatever he’s making now at Fox News? Seriously, what consequences does he claim to have suffered for his courageous conservatism? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/16 "2010-04-19T22:20:44Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > When I heard about Karl Rove’s book signing tour, I considered showing up with a different book (preferably written by a liberal) and tricking him into signing that one instead. But I couldn’t think of a title that was ironic enough. Clearly Michael Moore’s “Stupid White Men” or Al Franken’s Lies (And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them)". ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/17 "2010-04-20T00:47:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, he did help with population control by eating all those puppies and kittens and washing them down with all that babies blood. I’m guessing his supporters see a different side of Rove. So I was wondering what it was they saw. ---
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/18 "2010-04-21T18:37:36Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > When I heard about Karl Rove’s book signing tour, I considered showing up with a different book (preferably written by a liberal) and tricking him into signing that one instead. But I couldn’t think of a title that was ironic enough. My friend from college has Bill Clinton’s Autograph on a copy of the 1992 Republican Presidential Platform 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/19 "2010-04-21T20:20:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So what exactly did Rove personally do that would make him worthy of admiration? He managed to piss off every single Progressive/Liberal in the entire _world_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603/20 "2010-04-21T21:36:20Z")
> [@](#): > > He managed to piss off every single Progressive/Liberal in the entire world. How was that an accomplishment? Reagan was a conservative but he charmed his opponents. Which was more effective in advancing his goals. All Rove did by pissing off his opponents was make them more determined to fight him and block his attempts to advance the conservative agenda. And a little more charm from Rove and John McCain might have been elected President. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-yuck-a-signed-karl-rove-book/536603.md?page=2)