Why Karl Touts Hillary
Karl Rove knew exactly what he was doing. In a round of interviews as he exited the White House, the man President Bush called the "architect" of his re-election was designing something else: a push for Hillary Clinton's nomination. "I think she's likely to be the nominee," he told Rush Limbaugh. "And I think she's fatally flawed." All observations that, coming from anyone else, might be considered routine punditry. But when Rove speaks, the political class pays attention—usually with good reason. And this time, Rove's eagerness to engage on the question of Clinton was no spontaneous event. Ever a helpful fellow, he's happy to drive Democrats into the arms of Hillary by taking her on.
All of which creates the oddest Rove and Clinton coupling. After all, her interests and his are perfectly aligned right now: He wants her to be the Democratic nominee (because he thinks she will lose). And she does, too (because she thinks she will win). So Rove happily promotes the idea that Clinton's nomination is "inevitable," a virtual done deal. And when Rove opines on Clinton in any way, she's just as thrilled to take him on. What better way to win over those liberal Democratic primary voters—skeptical about you because you voted for the Iraq war—than to remind them that the evil Rove is attacking you? "I don't think Karl Rove's going to endorse me," Clinton said at a recent Iowa debate, clearly relishing his attention, if not his affection. "That becomes more and more obvious. But I find it interesting he's so obsessed with me."
Just interesting? More likely, it's a political marriage of convenience—a circumstance not altogether uncomfortable for Clinton. Indeed, the efficient Clinton campaign went into overdrive responding to Rove's charges that "she's got a weakness" on the issue of healthcare, given the debacle of Hillary's foray into the national health insurance debate as first lady. "This woman's got one idea on healthcare, which is to let the government do it all, and she's voted against all these very positive reforms which would allow the doctor and the patient to be in charge of healthcare." Translation: This can be a two-fer. Help Clinton win the nomination. At the same time, excite the depressed GOP faithful by taking her on.
That's all fine by the Clinton campaign. And it's right; anyone who attacks her is doing her a favor, on lots of levels. When the critique comes from a Republican like Rove, she becomes the Democratic stalwart, the tough fighter, the candidate to fear—as she's the first to tell you. "You know, I have been fighting against these people [Republicans] for longer than anybody else up here," Clinton pointed out at the Iowa debate. "I've taken them on and we've beaten them...." Unspoken: No other Democrat—notably Barack Obama or John Edwards—can say that. An added plus for Hillary: As the object of GOP attacks, she even becomes more sympathetic—particularly to those single, lower-income, female Democratic primary voters she is working so hard to attract.
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