Hillary admires Rove's political strategy

The question has been posed thousands of times since Monday: What is Karl Rove's legacy?  There are literally thousands of answers.  James Carville, a long-time Democratic strategist, believes Rove will be credited with losing an entire generation of Republicans between the ages of 18 and 30:

If the trends hold, the one thing that we can be sure of is that MrRove’s political grave will receive no lack of irrigation from futureRepublicans.

But for those more interested in what Rove's legacy will be in terms of political strategy, it is clear that he left an impression on the Clinton family.  Peter Baker of the Washington Post revealed Hillary's admiration for Karl Rove's brand of politics:

Harris and Halperin wrote last year that Rove and the Clintonsshared some of the same understandings of how politics work, and thetwo authors even crafted a list they titled "What Hillary Clinton andKarl Rove Know About the Way to Win the White House in 2008." Clinton,they wrote, has "borrowed some strategies" from Rove for dealing withthe news media, enemies and anticipated attacks. "Like Karl Rove," theywrote, "Hillary Clinton knows that playing offense is better thanplaying defense. . . . Hillary Clinton obviously dislikes Bush's policygoals, but she appreciates some of the methods he has used to achievethem."

So, would a Clinton victory next year be a repudiation of Karl Rove politics or the perpetuation of them?

There is a lot more in that article worth reading!

Really though, what methods could possibly be admirable?  The ones Rove used against John McCain in the 2000 primaries, Max Cleland in 2002 or John Kerry in 2004?  Yeah, he sure was effective -- effective in turning voters off to politics, that is.

Comments

[George]

Clinton, like Rove, would rather exploit superficial division in our nation and lead with 51% of the vote, than work hard and form a true consenus. This is the DLC in a nutshell.

[granny]

Karl Rove was entirely successful at the taking of power, and expanding it to fit the ambitions of those he serves.

Clinton, no less ambitious, admires this.

And - I'm saying it again! -

Ultimately, why care about Republicans lost or won? For now, the cadre acquires what it wants, and does not intend to be hampered by "elections".

If anyone thinks Karl Rove "retired" to go home and be with his "family", there's a wake up call on the way.

[Tony]

DITTO: "Clinton, like Rove, would rather exploit superficial division in our nation and lead with 51% of the vote, than work hard and form a true consensus. This is the DLC in a nutshell."

I had liked her at one time, but, I'm starting to believe the woman is evil (perhaps she always was)