Karl Rove is a master at the self-inflicted dirty trick. I would expect that as this year progresses, we'll see any number of incidents that make 'ole Georgie look like a beat-up puppy. And it will all come from Rove.
Rove's dirty fingerprints could also be seen in the Iowa Senate race between Tom Harkin and GOP candidate Greg Ganske. A few months ago, a story was leaked that the Harkin campaign had employed a spy within the Ganske campaign. To put this in a Rove context, we must go back to the 1986 Texas gubernatorial race in which Rove's candidate Bill Clements was taking on Democratic Governor Mark White. Just before a debate between the two candidates, Rove spun the story that his office had been bugged. No proof. But the insinuation that White's people had carried out the bugging was reported by the media. In the election, Clements defeated White. Rove stashed away more political capital into his already heavy knapsack of ill-gotten IOUs.
During the 2000 presidential campaign, we were obviously treated to more Rove chicanery when the following Associated Press story hit the wires: "A woman who worked for a media company that produced ads for President George W. Bush's campaign was indicted for secretly mailing a videotape of Bush practicing for a debate to Vice President Al Gore's campaign." Yes, that videotape, along with a 120-page briefing book, just happened to turn up in Gore's headquarters as fast as the CD-ROM turned up in Lafayette Park. The sourcerer Segretti must be very proud of his apprentice. In 1980, no Republican bemoaned the fact that Jimmy Carter's debate briefing book was swiped and found its way into the hands of the Reagan-Bush campaign. In Rove's world, its only an affront when someone "steals" your own campaign secrets and not when your are on the receiving end of a heist.
Exposing Karl RoveIt's what he does. No one has spent more time doing dirty tricks and covering up behind himself than Rove. And the beauty of the self-inflicted dirty trick is that it is so difficult to expose the trick. Get a third party to expose a know skeleton in your candidate's closet at the last minute and EVERYONE will think your opponent has "gone dirty".
About the only defense for Rove is to "bell the cat". Make sure that everyone knows his MO so that when the inevitable self-inflicted dirty trick occurs, Rove will be the chief suspect. Of course, this assumes an honest press. But something must be done...
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