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Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid

The New York Times reports that White House staffers think Karl Rove is not going to be indicted because he's back to his normal self, down to the spring in his step.

Rove gave his lecture at the Federalist society tonight. Not surpisingly, his theme was the need to stop what he called "judicial imperialism."

Among the decisions he criticized: a Supreme Court ruling that forbade the death penalty for murderers under 18, saying it "ignored the fact that at the time, the peoples' representatives in 20 states had permitted the death penalty for killers under 18."

In a week in which we have seen the Bush Administration pressure Congress to (1) exempt the CIA from an anti-torture amendment, (2) overrule a Supreme Court decision allowing those declared enemy combatents solely on the word of the Executive branch to challenge their detention in court; and (3) increase the power of the FBI to spy on Americans and others without judicial oversight or accountability to Congress, this hardly seems like a recipe for success.

Bush's poll ratings continue to plummet. He's now down to a 36% approval rating, according to a Fox News poll out today. Cheney is a caricature -- he will go down in history as Chicken Little, yelling "The WMDS are coming."

Rove and the White House still don't get it. There is a serious disconnect between this Administration and the American people. They promised to display character and leadership and delivered incompetence, ethical lapses of judgment and criminal conduct.

Now we learn Bush is about to take to the road and attack his critics on the issue of weapons of mass destruction as a means of restoring his credibility.

What a collossal waste of time.

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    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#1)
    by Punchy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    Honestly, Americans will see through all of this BS. Attack all they want; most people will see it for waht it is--pure partisan crap. Bush has not the means nor the personality to regain support. He's irreversibly sunk, and like quicksand, the more he tries to dig out, the deeper he entrenches himself.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#2)
    by glanton on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    Tuesday was a small step in the right direction. Virginia was closely watched by everyone, as Novak's current piece makes clear. Perhaps punchy is right and the public is catching on to all this overreaching. In my opinion this minor shift began with the Shiavo circus, and it's been one disaster after another with the government we've got. Now, if we could only get some Dems with spine in 2006, we might be able to salvage something.....

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    Bush has not the means nor the personality to regain support. Punchy--Or to organize his own staff, which would be necessary if Rove were gone. I'm actually looking forward to the SOTU. It should be hysterical, in more than one sense.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    Americans can really remember back three years. They can. That is why 57% believe Bush was intentionally deceptive about the argument for the war. They remember clearly what he and Cheney and Powell and all the others said at the time. Actually, part of the reason they remember was because Rove was so good at the time at making sure that message was heard. And now they get to reap the consequences. Anyway, I still think Rove is going to be indicted.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    glanton Actually, I see signs of Dems regaining their status as vertebrates. A notable one is that several prominent Dems have realized that coming out and saying that they were WRONG to support Bush's call for an unprovoked attack on Iraq is not an act of cowardice, it is an act of courage. Again people will not be fooled into thinking that Senators have as much access to intelligence as the White House. This was Bush's war all the way.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#6)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    Yeah. Looks like Bush is in trouble. Uh-huh. Sure. BTW - What happened in Ohio? And... and net gains in governorsips? Huh?

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#7)
    by Lora on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:58 PM EST
    Jim, I have to agree with you on this one. The Bush administration shows absolutely no sign of being in any way thwarted in their grand plans by any of the scandals, corruption, alleged crimes, or rebukes they have experienced in recent weeks.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#8)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:59 PM EST
    Yeah. Looks like Bush is in trouble. Uh-huh. Sure. BTW - What happened in Ohio? And... and net gains in governorsips? Huh?
    I think you've sacrificed the mantle of "the guy sitting in the back of the room and smiling" at this point. You're more like the heckler who's so laughably outmatched that his presence is becoming more awkward than anything else, but despite the beard stubble and the stains on his shirt and the way all his lame outbursts get slapped down, he acts like he's the cool one. Audiences and hosts alike cheer when old ladies tell him to shut up.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:59 PM EST
    "The New York Times reports that White House staffers think Karl Rove is not going to be indicted ..." That's not 'reporting.' That's propaganda -- the same propaganda that the NYT Cheerleader Squad has produced for years now. White House staffers? Do they mean Judas Miller? Who is the current Judas Miller at the Times? Just because they wear out an a*hole doesn't mean they don't have a reserve. All it takes is a sufficiently greedy traitor or two, and a corporate shark or two. NYT 'reporters' are like condoms.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:00 PM EST
    scar - And I think you a member of the far, far Left who has totally lost contact with reality. Now that we have described our view of the other, let us review. The Demos retained two governorships. Big deal. That is what is called "break even." The Demos lost totally in Ohio, where the reforms were supposed to be driven by dissatisfaction. The CA vote shows that CA still is heavily influenced by organized labor and teacher's union. And this is news? The facts are that this is meaningless. Should the Repubs be concerned? Yes. All mid-term elections are typically hard on the party in power. With, of course, the notable exception of 2002 in which the Repubs gained seats. The Left has pretty well had a free shot a Bush for the last three months and it has actually done little harm. Now that he is attacking back, we'll have to see what happens. But Presidents have this capability of setting the agenda and the debate. The Left, even with their allies in the MSM, has to contend with that, as well as the new kid on the block. The Internet. For example, Mary Mapes, of RatherGate fame, has a new book. In 1997 PBS, NPR and various other sources would have an uncontested shot at re-writing history through her book. No more. Now we have Emily Will on her own website correcting Mapes' mistakes. Enjoy scar. Enjoy.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:01 PM EST
    Posted by Jim: "The Demos lost totally in Ohio, where the reforms were supposed to be driven by dissatisfaction." The vote-fraud in Ohio is still in place -- they have NO PAPERTRAIL -- the entire rightwing including the Governor and the Bush-campaign chair SecState (who controls the elections) are implicated in a massive money-transfer scandal -- their careers (but not their power in office) are OVER. "The CA vote shows that CA still is heavily influenced by organized labor and teacher's union. And this is news?" The vote in CA was a clearcut rebuke of special elections by a THUG. That bs cost us $100 million. Thanks, Barbell. That's a precursor to Barbell being RECALLED in July. He's toast, so you better store up these whinings about California and labor unions -- you'll need them. We actually have labor rights in California, which befits one of the largest economies IN THE WORLD. And, btw, we teach science, not fantasy, in our public schools.

    Re: Casting Karl Rove as the Comeback Kid (none / 0) (#12)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:01 PM EST
    PIL - The fact that you can't prove it means that it exists. Tell me, do you believe in Santa Claus? I mean you can't prove he exists..... As for CA, not my state. You guys can waste your money any way you want. Just don't close the casinos.... I need the money.