ocealdia

Rove is back guys, this time with the McCain campaign.

Some people here like to utter as an argument "But Bush is not running this year" as an argument for quite a few issues. To them, I say "you are wrong,
A McCain presidency IS a third term for Bush.

I call this year's presidential race dead even.

McCain and Rove form a tentative alliance
RAW STORY
Published: Monday February 11, 2008

|
On Friday, a day after Karl Rove donated $2300 to John McCain's campaign, McCain (R-AZ) put aside a longstanding grudge over Rove's famously bold tactics in securing George Bush the 2000 GOP nomination, and said that Rove’s advice would be welcome in his campaign.

"Nobody denies he's one of the smartest political minds in America," McCain said. "I'd be glad to get his advice. I get advice from a lot of people. I'd be happy to have his advice."

The news came just before President Bush praised McCain as a "true conservative" in a Fox News interview on Sunday, responding to a wave of attacks from conservative hardliners such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.

"If John is the nominee, he has got some convincing to do to convince people that he is a solid conservative," Bush said, "And I'll be glad to help him if he is the nominee."

McCain's relationship with the Bush camp has been fraught since the 2000 primaries in South Carolina, when McCain was falsely accused of leaving POWs behind in Vietnam and of 'siring' an illegitimate black child -- actually his adopted Bangladeshi daughter, Bridget -- and his wife, Cindy was accused of having a drug problem.

These attacks have long been attributed to Rove, acting through various GOP surrogate groups, including the group, 'Vietnam Veterans Against McCain,' and the allusively-named Bob Jones University professor, Richard Hand, who authored a mass e-mail claiming that McCain had "chosen to sire children without marriage." The signal event in the negative campaigning was a telephone push-poll which asked voters, "Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain...if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?"

McCain remarked on Friday, "I've always respected Karl Rove as one of the smart great political minds I think in American politics. I've always respected him. We never had any ill will after the initial South Carolina thing. After we had the meeting with President Bush we moved on. I've seen Karl Rove many times when I've been over at the White House. We've always had pleasant conversations."

A transcript of McCain's remarks is below, followed by the video of the event:

QUESTION: Are there other signs you see that are encouraging to you...

MCCAIN: Oh yeah. A lot of the fundraisers from other camps are coming on board. And yeah we're seeing that coming together really well. We're seeing it.

[Inaudible]

MCCAIN: Who?

QUESTION: Karl Rove?

MCCAIN: Oh I, listen, he ah. Nobody denies he's one of the smartest political minds in America. I'd be glad to get his advice. I get advice from a lot of people. I'd be happy to have his advice.

QUESTION: I was wondering about that, right....

MCCAIN: He beat me. I certainly would be glad to get his advice. I don't think I'd want to revisit how he did it. And I mean that. Not about South Carolina. I mean I don't feel like reliving my defeat.

QUESTION: Are you worried about, he uses very aggressive tactics is that something that--

MCCAIN: I've always respected Karl Rove as one of the smart great political minds I think in American politics. I've always respected him. We never had any ill will after the initial South Carolina thing. After we had the meeting with President Bush we moved on. I've seen Karl Rove many times when I've been over at the White House. We've always had pleasant conversations.

QUESTION: His tactics don't, you don't disapprove of them? They don't make you nervous?

MCCAIN: It's not so much whether I approve of his tactics or not. It's that he has a very good, great political mind. Any information or advice and council he can give us, I'd be glad to have. I don't think anybody denies his talents. So I'd be glad to get any advice and council. We would obviously decide whether to accept it or not.

leftparadise

in other words - i'll do whatever it takes to get elected, even if that means rolling around in the sewer with the man who insulted my wife and child. nice.

ocealdia

He's a whore to Bush and now Rove.

That's what we'll get if the dems don't get it together before November. I will vote whomever wins the democratic nomination.

HarperLee

My sentiments, exactly! Rove started the rumor before the 2000 South Carolina Republican primary that McCain had fathered an illegitimate, biracial child. (McCain and his wife had adopted a little girl from Bangladesh.)

If he won't stand up for his own family, how can we expect him to stand up for our country?

poetrychic

true..i wonder if he's doing this to shut up the likes of rush, hannity and coulter who say he's not "conservative enough" to be the republican nominee...and as bad as this is about to sound, i'd rather have a mccain presidency beget by rove than a huckabee presidency any day of the year

__________________
"it was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation, yes we can!"

Jonesy

A better question would be, 'how can we expect him to defend the country and better the country, if he couldn't defeat such a tactic?'.

Teri B.

Rove scares the crap out of me. He's the most devious, manipulative little slug American politics has seen in a long, long time. I still don't see how McCain's going to get past his bomb Iran ditty. Only the most extreme of the far righters would want MORE WAR. Over 70% of Americans want us to start getting our ass out of Iraq. McCain can't win with 30%. But who knows WHAT Rove can cook up.

ocealdia

McCain is looking like a real ass like he did in the beginning of his campaign. Your right . ..Rove was all about that rumour. I thought we had heard the last of him.

ocealdia

I just heard a few minutes ago,.... that Huckabee is winning over mccain in one of the states. This guy's like the energizer bunny pastor.

slowhand

Forest Gump and Elmer Fudd..Now theres a pair that beats three of a kind