Listen, Rove will get praise because 1.) The Republicans still rule and they'll continue to intimidate the press, 2.) everyone goes with a proven winner and 3.) the Dems are on a losing streak. Once the dust settles, IF we've won both houses the bloom will be off Rove's rose and there will be stories of the operatives who lead the charge on the House and Senate side...I just want to send him an email on November 8 about looking at "THE math" that matters...he's smug and cocky and talks a good game...justifiably so thus far. Until he's knock out, he'll continue and everyone will pay homage.

Greg, i'm impressed that you can read this kind of bilge all the way through!

as an example of the power-loving nature of today's mainstream media, this article belongs in a time capsule for sure. apparently, there really is nothing that the bush white house can do that isn't a hallmark of genius.

DemUnity, while i agree that Rove is dramatically overrated, forget the national vote on bush-kerry: bush won the 13 states of the old confederacy by 5.5M votes and lost the other 37 states (including all kinds of red ones) by 2.5M votes. giving rove credit for running up the score in states that weren't competitive in the first place doesn't strike me as legit.

the vote that mattered was ohio, where 80K voters made the wrong choice (perhaps fewer, given the legitimate questions about ohio vote suppression). that's about all we should concede to rove's "genius" in terms of 2004....

This kinda thing happens all the time. Whenever there isn't an obvious reason why there's a winner, whoever won last is anointed a genius.

When the Yankees won, it was money. But the White Sox and Red Sox were geniuses. Bill Belichick failed miserably in Cleveland, but became a genius in New England after a 3 point Super Bowl victory. Then he didn't make the playoffs and wasn't a genius anymore. Then he won two more 3 point victories, and was a genius again.

Here's what I wrote to the LA Times and to their editors re their story "GOP at a loss? Karl Rove has an 11th-hour plan":

Dear Sirs:
This story isn't news. It is opinion. Why is it at the top of the web site page? Since the Tribune has bought the Times I like it less and less and am considering cancelling my subscription. This is a puff piece for Rove, a disgusting piece of lopsided opinion, and you treat it as a news story. Why? I question your editorial judgment. If there's anything I do know, it's that the people writing this story authored "One Party Nation" and seem to have that viewpoint. I never thought I'd say it but I'd like to see the Times go down the tubes or be sold off than this kind of so-called "reporting." Rove's practices have put Bush at the lowest approval rating and to read this you wouldn't think so. His practices also have put the Republicans at risk and to read this you would think he's a genius. Bush only won the election by a slim margin and a Supreme Court decision, and to read this you'd think Rove is a mastermind. Clearly it's biased and has no place in "news."

I look at this from the position of, give him all the puffery he wants. This tells me they are going to loose, we are going to win and quite frankly--that's enough for me. Now, down the road if the Repugs want to continue to use his disgusting and failed methods, then fine--we know them for exactly what they are and perhaps spending so much time in the minority was good for us. None of the progressives who visit here are under any illusion that we won't have to fight off the Repugs for the Rest of our Lives. We got comfortable that our representative Democrats could take the fight to the other side, if we just voted for them. Well, we know better now and I would bet the ranch that I won't be the only progressive who is still ready to fight the Republicans when the Democrats take power in January of 07 and even January of 09.

We need to call these people out for trying to disseminate a meme that subverting democracy is a praiseworthy act. Hacking the electoral system, replacing all of policy with politics and turning the White House into a centralized clearinghouse for pork is disgusting. The best thing anyone could claim he has done is exposed the only weak point of constitutional democracy - that it only continues to function so long as our leaders actually adhere to their oaths of office.

You're getting a taste of just why so many of us out here in Los Angeles no longer read the LA Times.

First the Tribune Company bought out the paper and began adding conventional wisdom squawkboxes like Michael Kinsley, who in turn felt the need to bring in neocon nutjobs to flesh out the editorial page. Results...? BIG DOWNTURN in paper sales.

Now the Tribune Company is unloading the paper.

The LA Times is a nothing rag.

It is possible to show brilliance in a losing cause (whatever one thinks of it). Athletes do it all the time. Riefenstahl's movie about the Nazi rally was brilliant movie making, per se. The thing about Rove is that he'd appear as less of a 'maestro' were it not for the continuing help of the Bush light party, aka Democrats.

If ever there was a clear cut, incontrovertable, unambiguous instance of Demonic posession--it is the case of Karl Rove. He is like a character out of an HP Lovecraft story. He is the best argument I can make for the existence of pure, concentrated evil. I don't usually like to engage in Manichaeistic jargon--but Karl Rove is Beelzebub. For, if a tree is twisted and poison, so shall it's fruits be poison. Rovian politics has not advanced the conservative cause--he has all but wrecked it.

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Jesus of Nazareth

Nah, he's just a fat, moon-faced fuck. Repeat that mantra, and exorcise the hoodoo.

And don't forget those wonderful voting machines. I just helped a sharp but not computer-savvy senior vote, and I'm convinced they will play a role in functional disenfranchisement. Voting requires turning a wheel to cycle through alternatives, and pressing enter to select a candidate. Voters who aren't familiar with data entry will see enter as some initializing procedure, and will press cast ballot to register their choice, which will actually finalize their entire ballot (irreversibly) after the first candidate selection. It also requires the skill of identifying highlighted text - and not an obvious highlight like bright yellow. If you're looking at the wheel as you turn it, rather than watching the highlight change on the ballot, as many voters unfamiliar with the process will be, and don't see the highlight change, it's difficult to pick out. Absolutely ingenious!

That's exactly right! It is just the useless media flapping of gums.

The truth is that Rove is an amazing idiot and Bush is worse.

Just think about it. Bush ran as a "compassionate conservative." But, because of Rove it was all a big lie. He governed from the hard right.

What was the result? He managed to immediately alienate 1/2 the country. Then 9/11 happened and everybody wanted to rally behind the President. His popularity shot up to 90%.

What did he do? Did he attempt to cement that popularity by moving to the center? NO! He could have become one of the most popular and successful Presidents in American history.

Progressives like me would still have hated him, but we would be howling in the wilderness.

Instead, he not only had to invade Iraq in a fit of limitless hubris, he totally bungled the job by utterly ignoring everyone who tried to advise him. Result? An unspinable catastrophe that is swallowing the Republican hopes for a majority.

Not only is Bush a lame duck but he will be fighting off investigations of corruption and angry Republicans for the next two years. He's already in the ash-can of history with no chance of redemption, no matter how hard the media tries to spin a "Bush comeback."

The truly amazing thing about all this is that if he'd ACTUALLY been a "compassionate conservative" he wouldn't have had to sacrifice much of his agenda, he would simply have been more popular!

Instead, by using the politics of total destruction created by Karl Rove, he's totally galvanized the country into opposition and now we're going to have a chance to undo everything he's tried to do to our country.

All thanks to Karl Rove! The revival of progressive politics in America after a 20 year hiatus and empowering us to totally repudiate everything you stand for is going to be your legacy!

And it couldn't happen to a nicer fellow!