Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather)
If there was truly any justice in this world, Karl Rove would be cooling his heels in some very uncomfortable room in The Hague, Netherlands right now. Instead, he has jumped from the sinking ship of the Bush White House to a cushy job as a pundit on FOXNews. But even as a pundit, on Monday’s Verdict, Dan Abrams has noted a peculiar tendency on the part of Bush’s Brain to sound exactly like a partisan political propagandist. Case in point: Rove was kind enough to give some “advice” to Barack Obama that read for all the world as a whisper campaign on Obama’s perceived weakness.
But inside that Beltway Bubble, Karl Rove finding gainful employment giving his opinion on Democratic candidates hardly raises an eyebrow. In fact, Tucker Carlson loves him some Rovian punditry:
Well, I’ve seen him a couple of times on the tube. I think he’s excellent, actually. He’s better than I thought he would be. He’s got smart and incisive things to say. Look, the thing about Rove is it’s actually a more honest situation than most. I mean, in a lot of cases you’ve got people—most journalists obviously are liberal Democrats—and most sort of try their best to be objective. You kind of have to guess about whether they’re achieving objectivity or not. With Rove, it’s Karl Rove! You know, like you know exactly who he is, you know where he’s coming from. A smart person takes that into account. Even a dumb person takes that into account. And so, everything’s kind of out on the table and you can evaluate what he says and turn on your BS monitor and if some of it sounds like spin, you take that into account. But I’ve been kind of impressed, being in the pundit business myself for a while, by how good the guy is. Watch him, he’s good! Actually.
Uh no, actually. Only Roy Sekoff of the Huffington Post seems to get that someone who is responsible for so much of what is wrong with this country and so many criminal acts does not deserve to continue to get a national platform from which to practice and further his divisive ways. Of course if being “wrong” was the metric to ensure not being on TV, Tucker would have been vanquished off by 1994. Most journalists are liberal Democrats, Tucker? You idiot, Karl Rove is on FOXNews. Are you telling me they’re mostly liberal Democrats? That’s just stupid and lazy.
Norah McDonnell perpetuates the “Karl Rove is a political genius” meme so intractably popular in Washington DC circles:
I think everybody knows where Karl Rove comes from. And I think the genius of Karl Rove, whether you agree or disagree with him, even the things he’s done inside the Bush administration, is that he is a brilliant political tactician. There’s nobody since I covered the White House who knows the numbers, who knows demographics of congressional districts, who knows the delegate counts better. I mean, really, other than like Chuck Todd, who does the numbers like that, Karl Rove knows this stuff, lives it, breathes it, digs it, and so that’s why he’s a good source in that regard. But there’s no doubt…I mean, he wants the Republican…and he wants McCain to win, even though he tried to destroy McCain in 2000.
Norah, no one knows better than Karl? Can you say 2006 elections? I predicted the outcome more accurately than Rove did. Where’s my pundit spot where I can attack the Republicans under the guise of my “political expertise”? And I’m not guilty of orchestrating dirty elections, ramping up a propaganda tsunami to force the country into an illegal war or treasonously outing a CIA covert officer. I think a moral compass would be a refreshing change in the punditry, don’t you?
No Trackbacks To “Verdict: Why Is Karl Rove A Pundit?“
Primero?
Rove is a butt-nugget.
Where’s Jeff Gannon?
.
Why is Rover a pundit…?
… BECAUSE THERE’S A PAYCHECK ATTACHED… !
.
Why even waste bandwidth with this topic, Nicole.
Bottom line, anyone with half a brain knows exactly what Rove is, what he is doing and are not watching.
I hear he’s doing big time ratings in West Virginia.
HEY pundits and bloggers rule. People have come to believe THEIR OPINIONS are fact. All you have to do is search the web and you’ll see that people who never had half a brain are now considered EXPERTS.
The question also begs, “why is Tucker Carlson still on the air?”
Followup question - why is Tucker Carlson STILL a pundit? How many times can he fail before people stop booking him?
Of course Rove knows the demographics of every district–how can you race bait if you don’t know your audience numbers? geesh.
Maybe he could give Alberto a job writing for him?
In fairness, why is George Stephanoupolis considered a pundit yet Rove can’t be? Oh that’s right, at least George knows what truth is, Rove has been running away from it his whole political career!
Yes the “Karl is a genius” meme drives me to distraction as well.
I don’t buy it.Rove is simply more willing than almost anyone else to lower the bar then slither under it.To top it all off,he is probably an actual traitor,a word the Republicans toss around with gleeful abandon when targeting hapless Dems,but ignore utterly when it comes to Stink Blossom.
Roves Jumped Ship?
Get real it’s business as UNUSUAL
pinkobait @ 11:
Maybe he is a genius if he has people thinking he’s not involved in this Election in any way shape or form.
karl rove is much like a diamond jewler , he has been able to manipulate the american voter , spending his day time hours in his labratory finely polishing the turd that the voteing public has become thanks greatly to his efforts, enjoy the buffing!
Karl Rove should be a prison b*tch. He should be bubba, his celly, personal butt pundit.
Yeah, and why is TV-dinner boy Tucker on my screen again?
L.A. Confidential @ 13:
Well you don’t buy it,I don’t buy it.
Who honestly buys the idea he’s not involved in this election?
pinkobait @ 16:
Probably more people then I want to admit.
Is there a more annoying little dweeb than Tucker Carlson? I doubt it..
Rove is going to be around a long time in this capacity so, best get used to it. In the post-modern age, rehabilitation happens at warp speed. It took almost 20 years for Richard Nixon to slither back into the public eye as an ‘elder stateseman’ giving sage advice to presidents and kings. Then the floodgates opened and before you know it we’re up to our ass in freaks and ex-cons punditing their hearts out. G. Gordon Liddy. Henry Kissinger. Sean Hannity’s BFF Ted Nugent shooting off machine guns and yelling “Suck on this, Obama!”
In civilized countries like Britain and Canada, these kinds of people are relegated to a soapbox in the park, screaming into a Mr. Microphone while being studiously ignored by passersby. Only in America do they get paid to rave on public airwaves.
Seriously. Go to Canada and try to find an equivalent to Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter. You can’t. They are American media creations exclusively.
Karl Rove is a pundit for the same reason that Tucker Carlson is still a pundit: They’re both willing to say what pleases their bosses, no matter how dishonest, vicious, wrong or stupid.
Blue Lensman @ 18:
at least he got rid of the bowtie! Wonder if he is still proud of his gay bashing episode!
evil as he may be, rove has many outstanding accomplishments
far more than the usual douchebags like bagala, carlson, oreilly, etc. who are nothing without their mouths
pinkobait @ 11:
I could not have said it better myself, I was going to try actually, but you beat me to it, there is nothing “genius” about the fat little bastard, thats like saying I am really strong because I beat your grandma up.
Trash pundits for trash Fox viewers.
Tucker: sad GOP charity case. Rs take care of their own.
Rove: cheating = genius
winning is easy when you cheat.
marko @ 22:
Recall how terror warnings were regularly made at times when John Kerry’s ratings rose during the 2004 presidential election?
L.A. Confidential @ 26:
Now that you mention it, we should be due for one soon.
Thanks Nicole. Now I’m nauseous.
mudshark @ 27:
I think we may see more “Muslim Terrorists” rather then just “Terrorists” this time around. The Jane Fonda thing won’t fly with Obama and of course Obama didn’t “purposefully shoot himself” like Kerry did for effect over in Nam.
mudshark @ 27:
Nah, August 10th. Now is too soon. Expect to hear how the refineries have been targeted by arogue tanker packed with c4. And how the homeland security has thwarted it.
Sorry, all three of these pundits are morons. Roy Sekoff is really just a lefty Tucker Carlson. Really, the could almost be related.
Boring Scott @ 7:
Why is Tucker still on the air and using “honest” and “Rove” in the same sentence? Leather boot-lick Tucker!!!
Both Tucker Carlson and Rove, throw in the corporate whore O’Donnel, are nothing more than HEMMROIDS waiting for Preparation H to happen
Boring Scott @ 7:
Yeah, I’d had hoped that he would go away as well.
At the end I think I heard Tucker almost say Of Course he’s an eenemy of thruth, all pundits are….”
Actually, I’m surprised that Faux “news” hasn’t snapped Tucker up.
Justice for Rove in the Hague?
What a ridiculous notion that is. These international tribunals don’t give out death sentences.
Yes, yes, I’m against the death penalty. I think we should abolish it in this country as soon after 1/20/09 as the 111th Congress and President Obama can get around to it. But they have more pressing needs to attend to, including figuring out how to bring to justice criminal perpetrators form the current administration. If some of these unworthies get death sentences before we get around to abolishing the death penalty, well, I’m sure the party of Law and Order will understand.
There’s a reason O’Donnell is nicknamed “Noron.”
Who is Tucker Carlson?
Tucker: “most journalists obviously are liberal Democrats.”
What source is he relying on here? Or does he get this fact from the same place Rush Limbaugh does?
This little bit of ’supporting fact’ in Carlson’s construction is almost as shockingly dishonest as the premise it supposedly supports; that “the thing about Rove is it’s actually a more honest situation than most.”
The underlying logic is even more shocking - that Rove should be listened to because he is so dishonest that even dumb people are going to take his dishonesty into account. Maybe here he’s at least on familiar territory. Tucker Carlson could stake out the punditerritory of speaking for dumb people on the right, if there weren’t already a surplus of such.
Rove is a traitor on top of being a criminal. But more to the point, he’s been demonstrably wrong on every major issue that has faced our country for the last 8 years (at least). So why would any legitimate news outlet hire him to comment on anything? Reasoned discourse and rationally-presented opposing views are fine and — frankly — would be welcome after years of Rush, Bill-O, Rove, etc. Maybe that’s part of the problem — the right doesn’t have anyone left who hasn’t been proven to be a complete idiot, so you might as put Rove on air. He’s as accurate as the rest of the them when it comes to issues… I did my part. I canceled my Newsweek subscription and wrote them a note saying to give me a call once they’d put Rove on the road. All I can do is change the channel when he comes on TV and hope that somehow justice catches up to him one day.
There is probably no one more interesting nor more in command of their facts in handicapping any of the primaries this whole election season.
Even the editors at Newsweek like Karl Rove, amazing in and of itself.
That Pundit on Fox News? An Upstart Named Rove
Mr. Meacham (Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek) said Mr. Rove had been received surprisingly well in the magazine’s newsroom, where he has been a reliable colleague who files his articles on time and works diligently with fact checkers.
“After one editor dealt with him,” Mr. Meacham said, “the editor called me and said, ‘This just complicated my world view. I may like Karl Rove.’ ”
Funny thing is, no one seems to be noticing or has much to say about Markos Moulitsas at Newsweek, the Left-wing corollary to the Karl Rove hire there.
Probably guilty of orchestrating Attorney-gate, the prosecution of the Alabama Governor for walking Democratic, and Pentagon-gate, purging the White House of its communications records and emails, refusing to testify before Congress, and the list goes on…
He’s a traitor. And the MSM continues to fawn over him and promote him.
Norah is sooooo pretty. Even more vibrant now that she’s pregnant. But there is so much empty space behind those gorgeous blue eyes. I was actually watching this particular broadcast when she started lavishing praise on Rove. I usually can’t turn away from watching Norah, but this time she just went too far. Click. You stink Norah.
First, an apology to John Amato and staff: I took issue with your Sunday Talking Heads schedule and only belatedly realized you had identified Terry McAuliffe in an earlier listing in the schedule. Silly me!
But I have edited the blog, “Crooks, Liars, and Why the Dems Might be in Trouble,” and it has my thoughts on Mr. Rove. The fact that he is advising McBush should be the richest vein of raw meat for Dem speech writers (and I hope it has come to the attention of Mr. Obama himself). The fact that Rove is a pundit on Fox evidences that cable news network’s penchant for fascism.
mr.ed @ 37:
Most beautiful eyes on television. All actresses included.
dennis @ 41:
Dennis, are you seriously trying to create a moral equivalency of Markos Moulitsas and the man who outed Valerie Plame, who questioned Max Cleland’s patriotism, who had US Attorneys fired for not being partisan enough and may have orchestrated the conviction and incarceration of Don Siegelman?
This isn’t about left and right. This is about giving platform to an amoral person who should be on trial for treason.
The fact that all that he has done is forgiven is sickening and an indictment on the media in general. Don’t bring Kos into it.
I’m sick of hearing people in the media characterize Rove as “brilliant”. While I accept that he is of above average intelligence, wherein has he done anything to deserve the title, “Brilliant”?
Personally, I believe what is casually characterized as “genius” is in fact a complete disregard for morality. There is a great deal that can be accomplished if one is just willing to completely ignore ethics and laws. How then can somebody who cuts every corner and is reknowned for cheating be characterized as “Brilliant”?
I think anybody who characterizes Rove as “Brilliant” is mentally deficient.