Karl Rove in rare departure from party line

He is known as the maestro of national politics, a genius who engineered two presidential victories for George W. Bush. In some quarters where neither of them is much liked, Karl Rove is sometimes called "Bush's brain."

But Rove, in an interview with the Washington Post, said that John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was "not a governing decision but a campaign decision." In other words, a selection made to galvanize the Republican base, not necessarily to suit the vice presidency.

The comment infuriated McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt, who worked with Rove during the 2004 Bush reelection campaign. In an interview with CBS, referenced by Atlantic Monthly's Marc Ambinder, Schmidt said:

Karl's wrong. She's an exceptional governor, a reform governor in Alaska. Fifty states in this country, she is the most popular governor of any governor of any state. Her approval ratings are 80%. When you look at the fact that Congress's approval rating is 9%, and 85% of the country thinks we're going in the wrong direction, she's doing something right up there.

She's fought the oil companies. She's building a huge natural gas pipeline. She's taken on the corrupt special interests. She's returned taxpayer money back to families in Alaska. She is the future of the Republican Party. She' going to be an outstanding vice president.

Schmidt, perhaps reeling from the headlines about Palin's family, is not just angry at Rove though. He's furious at anyone who attacks the governor:

The simple fact here is that this is a mom of five children. There's been a private family matter and she's been under viscous assault and attack from the angry left. And we've seen that today. There's a lot of allegations and rumors, almost all of them untrue. The other side is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at her to see what sticks.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Tom J]

That would be 'vicious', not 'viscous'. I hope.

"She's fought the oil companies." Yes, yes she did. She raised their taxes. Is that what McCain-Palin plans for businesses in general if they get elected?

You know...we already have a presidential candidate whose staff answers every question on the issues with "John McCain was a POW...". Now we have a vice-presidential candidate whose staff answers every question on the issues with "that's a private family matter"? Oh please. Do they really the public is going to fall for that?