SEATTLE - Republican mastermind Karl Rove is now paying tribute to John McCain, the man whose presidential ambitions he thwarted eight years ago.
“Karl sent us a check. We saw the moths fly out,” McCain told reporters cryptically on the plane from Wichita, Kansas, to Seattle.
Rove, who ran George W. Bush’s two presidential campaigns and served as a White House aide until last summer, sent McCain a check for $2,300, the maximum allowed by law.
Rove oversaw Bush’s comeback victory over McCain in the 2000 South Carolina primary after McCain beat Bush in New Hampshire. That race was marked by an anonymous smear campaign which implied that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child, an effort that some McCain staffers believed at the time was orchestrated by Rove. (Rove has denied that he or anybody in the Bush camp was involved.)
McCain said he and the man known as “Bush’s brain” buried the hatchet years ago. The Arizona senator said he would welcome Rove’s political advice as he wraps up the Republican nomination and squares off against the Democratic nominee.
“I don’t think anybody denies his talents, so I’d be glad to get his advice and counsel. We would obviously decide whether to accept it or not,” McCain said.
“We’ve never had any ill will after the initial South Carolina thing,” McCain said. “I don’t think I’d want to revisit how he did it. … I don’t feel like reliving my defeat.”
In some respects, McCain’s campaign has been the opposite of the Bush victories engineered by Rove. Bush won by concentrating on evangelicals and conservatives and spent relatively little effort trying to woo moderates. McCain has won this year thanks to moderates and independents and has faced suspicion from vocal parts of the conservative base.
McCain aides also say that they have been ordered to steer clear of the hardball tactics that were a Rove trademark.
McCain declined to say whether he approved of Rove’s approach to winning.
“It’s not so much whether I approve of his tactics or not,” McCain said. “He has a very good, great political mind and any advice he can give us I’d be glad to have.”
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
Photo credit: Larry Downing/REUTERS
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3 comments so far
Wow, McCain would like Rove’s help. Yikes. So much for MCain being the change candidate.
Focusing on the positive, the more people get to know Obama, the more they like him. The polls continue to reflect that America wants a real change, and a leader who can inspire us and bring us together to do it. Identity politics is proving not to be as powerful as the desire of Americans to move forward. White, black, women, men want to come together.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2 /9/0719/10743/479/453121
“Obama Leads Big in Virginia, Maryland Hotlist
by SusanG
Sat Feb 09, 2008 at 10:28:46 AM EST
Two Survey USA polls were released yesterday for February 12 primary states, with good news for Obama.
Virginia. 2/7-8. 588 Likely Voters. MoE 4.1%. No trend lines.
Obama: 59
Clinton: 39
Undecided: 1
In Virginia, Clinton leads in seniors, Obama in voters under age 65. The two candidates are tied for white voters; Obama leads 7:1 among black voters. He also leads among both men and women.
Maryland. 2/7-8. 737 Likely Voters. MoE 3.7%. No trend lines.
Obama: 52
Clinton: 33
Undecided: 7
Uncommitted: 6
In Maryland, the two candidates split white voters, with Obama leading 4:1 among blacks. Clinton leads among seniors by 15 points, Obama leads by 39 points among voters 35-49. SUSA cautions: “If younger voters do not vote in the numbers here forecast, Obama’s margin is overstated.”"
- Posted by Duck SoupMcain has it in the bag. folks that usually dont vote will come out in the millions just to vote against Hillary and Obama (not so much for Mcain).
- Posted by Lloydyou cant have a democrat in office when the country is facing a recession. I took us almost 8 years to get out from under the Bill Clinton recession.
Duck Soup:
There’s not a single candidate in the current presidential race who would not want Karl Rove as an advisor. It’s just that the Democrats, and to a certain extent, McCain, would most likely receive some backlash from such an announcement. Remember, this guy singlehandedly put George W. Bush in office. That may be the single greatest example of political maneuvering in our history.
- Posted by Josh