Karl Rove on McCain's VP and Sarah Palin's "big hello" tonight

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- This is the first time in nearly a decade that Karl Rove, once called George W. Bush's brain, is not chief strategist for a major presidential campaign.

He won two of them in a row for the former Republican Texas governor, which has earned him the animosity of many Democrats and a highly visible job as a commentator on Fox News.

Before going on the air tonight from the Republican National Convention here, Rove, who's also writing an eagerly awaited behind-the-scenes book on his political experiences, took a couple of minutes off this afternoon to share some observations with The Ticket (see video below) on Sen. John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

He also talks about what Gov. Palin must do in her speech here tonight before some 20,000 Republicans eager to love her and before millions of Americans watching at home eager to see her and make a crucial first judgment about the Republican's VP nominee-to-be.

He calls these first few days of Palin's existence in the national consciousness her "big hello." (P.S. The audio isn't great. Turn it up. Sorry. But we're learning and will get better. Wait till you hear Jon Voight later today!)

-- Andrew Malcolm

Video by Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[dick bohanon]

when karl speaks
i know why i wont be voting
republican for decades to come.
reminds me of goebbels in 1938 germany
(read "human smoke")
did The Boss dick cheney authorize rove to speak?
of course he did
he leads the RICO statue party and
seems to do whatever little thinking does go on
in republican land

[Richard P. McDonough]

This creep, spoor of the devil and not yet repentant as was his now dead model was, Lee Atwater, as he lay dying, makes anybody, of even modestly moral character, gag. What he says is to be disdained; that he still has the power to speak is a grandly eloquent argument against the existence of a just god.

[Jack]

Did you give him a kiss when the camera stopped rolling?

[Linda C]

Who cares what Karl Rove says? He is a traitor who should be in jail for outing a CIA agent during war time, helping to lie us iinto an illegal war, destroying our Justice Department amid many other crimes against our Constitution and our great nation.

Palin is a right wing nut case who believes God sent war in Iraq who kills innocent animals from a helicopter for fun, has five kids but doesn't want to take the time to raise them.
God Bless America - we have real choice this year and it won't be
the old , illegal war mongering, war profiteering, dirty tricks . oil enriching criminals who should all be prosecuted for war crimes for killiing hundreds of thousands innocent people not to mention our best and brightest young people who heeded the call patriotically when the leaders were in it for their own power and profit.

[Jonathan]

(not to Rove - Wasilla isn't even one of the ten biggest cities in Alaska, at least not when Palin was its mayor)

Did Rove forget what he said when Tim Kaine was a potential VP nominee?

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/30/rove-plain-ready/

He complained that “he’s been a governor for three years” and said Kaine was mayor of only the “the 105th largest city in America,” referring to Kaine’s tenure as mayor of Richmond, VA. “It’s not a big town,” he quipped.

So when Obama's thinking of picking a 3-year governor, former 4-year lieutenant governor, and former mayor of Richmond, a city of 200,000, that guy's too inexperienced (not to mention his time in the Richmond City Council, 17-year law career, lecturer at U. of Richmond Law School, and Harvard Law degree).

But when McCain picks a 20-month governor and former mayor of a two of 6,000 who lost her lieutenant governor election, whose only degree is in communications, and whose work experience is as a commercial fisherman, suddenly she's the qualified one?

[dave]

if rove was bush's brain, it is this brain that won bush's notoriety. how in the world could anyone with a brain support someone for president who would completely choose to or has to, rely on another man's?
and what to do with such a brain that is perverted,
that is not connected to a feeling heart, and belongs to someone else?

the candidate for president RON PAUL has both a wise heart and brilliant mind, to make responsible decisions in the interest of the people. and unlike the neocon hijackers of the republican party, he does not need an 'evil mastermind' to win. his integrity and firm stand on the constitution, is all it takes for him to win. to win the hearts and minds of the people, for the people to win back their country and their liberty.

[MB]

Wow. This says it all "He's the brand - not the manager."
Therein lies the problem. Bush was just the brand to Rove's management. Unlike Bush, Obama actually has a mind of his own (for better or worse) and he manages those under him.

[katie]

The above comments about one of the most corrupt and self-serving human beings who ever entered politics, who successfully ignored a congressional subpoena, got fired and then got rewarded with a cushy job at Fox News... give me hope that Americans are on the ball, after all. Are we so degraded that this tragic human being cannot be held accountable for his malicious mischief?

[JT]

Bush is evil, Rove is a horrible puppet master, Palin is a trailer trash vixen. Yeah Yeah, we get it. You hate the GOP, the GOP is evil, intolerant, bigoyed, racist, and on and on it goes.

Love to come to the LAT and see the local lunatics express their hate and spill their bile.

We'll just have to sit back and see who wins...again !!!

[scott]

I wonder if any of the haters actually watched the clip, or just posted their dribble? I read the comments BEFORE I watched the clip, and was expecting some horrific statements from Rove. He sounded fine to me, nothing outrageous. Please take the time and actually watcht the clip before you chime in.

[Sean K]

JT: Your idiotic attempts at sarcasm failed miserably. Every point you attempted to pass off as satirical is pretty much a matter of public record, an by now, common knowledge. When attempting to be sarcastic, you should at least use some kind of intentional hyperbole so we can clearly tell what you are doing. Otherwise you're just speaking the truth with a lousy attitude.

[ed]

Barack Hussain Obama have no qualification to be the Commander in Chief of this great nation. As his designated Veep Biden said on the job trainee and nothing to offer but his eloquency with no substance is very immature to do.Only a community organizer in Chicago as his leadership experience, he needs more seasonings.

[Jon]

Excuuuuuuse me. So all of a sudden this chick is supposed to be the salvation for America because she hunts moose and thinks the world started during Pharoah Ahkenaton's reign (about 4K years ago). She is now the role model for all women as she has so wonderfully taught her teenage daughter. And of course, our war hero can't be touched because he is a war hero, in a war by the way we lost. Honestly if McBush-Palindrome get elected I will leave for Mexico where apparently there is a democracy.

[ruby]

JT- You are right about everything except the last two self serving sentences of your post.

Today, those two loyal GOP commentators Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan told the unvarished truth about McCain's panicked and totally ill -conceived decision to choose Palin when they were both "off mike" : IT IS OVER!!

Now we can finally get our country back after 8 miserable years.

[Frank A. Binder]

JT:

Do you really think you won? Maybe so, but America lost during the past eight years. I don't see that you have reason to be cocky or proud.

[Steven]

Palin should be waiting in the lounge to go on the Jerry Springer Show with members of her family. Rove needs to be turned over to "Bobo" in a prison somewhere. McCain's dumping of his first wife and the drug addict blond he's with now are enough to indicate what most "modern Republicans" consider a "lady"...the dignity and wisdom of Barrack and Michelle make too many jealous for him to win over the trailor trash of modern America. But he's who we need, not four more years of Bushites.

[tom b]

Linda C said it all! He's a criminal!

[what?]

ed: he needs more seasonings? what is he? a steak?

[Cheese Man]

Did Cindy McCain really say that Palin has international experience because Alaska is close to Russia? Take a wild guess how much those dresses cost that change each night like sorbet. She explains it off that her parents left it all to her after working hard with $10K down. Her company controls the beer excise laws on Arizona. The red state rednecks still think the "good-ol'-boys" Republicans aren't milking their God, gays, and guns philosophy. The "reds" are thrilled that gas is down to $4 a gallon which is what Bush's oil buddies want us to feel. Palin is being used to chase the Clinton fems but it didn't work. You can fool us some of the time . . . except for those mindless "reds." The dumbing down of America inches lower. Rove is laughing at them as he now cashes out on books, speeches, and TV analyst appearances. Bush will do the same when he leaves office.

[Jenny-from-the-Block]

Karl Rove has a problem with Sarah Palin - can anyone believe what she is saying - literally - few of the great claims surrounding her initially - are standing up to real scrutiny.

Something of which his sister channel Fox News can't control – the stories, the gossip, the lies and scandal are off and running around FoxNew's Sea of Calm - for Palin as VP !!

Is she trustworthy?

How honest is Sarah Palin?

This is a person that is going to be one step away from a very old President - and so far she can be accused of lies and downright exaggeration - with almost everything she claims is true.

It comes back - time and time again to did McCain do a well enough job in vetting her?