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Karl Rove Redux
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
Of course the White House is stepping into the New York governor's race and other key contests around the country. That's what presidents who want to win do.
A president getting involved in state political races? Shocking.
Actually, the only thing shocking would be a president who didn’t get involved in important races around the country. But people have an exalted view of President Obama and believe he shouldn’t get his hands dirty messing around in local politics. Or they think he campaigned above the partisan fray on a message that his presidency would not be politics as usual.
So, the media and others have come unglued when Team Obama rather inartfully suggested that New York Governor David Paterson start packing his parachute and get ready to jump to the private sector.
In order to effect change, you need as many votes up lined up behind you as possible. And in order to ensure you have those votes, you’ve got to drop the hammer and exert political muscle.
But not nearly as unglued as the media and Democrats used to get over the idea of Karl Rove orchestrating politics from the White House.
But, the presidency is all about politics. Obama did an artful job of creating an image of someone divorced from the nitty-gritty of hardball, brass-knuckled politics. But it’s far from reality. Obama got elected, in part, because he put a team around him of combat-proven veterans who know how to, as Bill Clinton once famously said, put his opponents’ teeth on the sidewalk.
• Lloyd Grove: Rahm’s Precedent for Meddling You don’t get much more political than Rahm Emanuel. Obama’s chief of staff got started in politics doing opposition research (dirt digging), then made his bones by whipping the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee into an effective Republican-killing juggernaut. This is the guy, after all, who once sent a dead fish to a pollster who had given him bad data—along with a note saying “Your numbers stink.”
Presidents should do whatever possible and practical to encourage an environment of cooperation and bipartisanship. And they should maintain a certain level of decorum, diplomacy and decency. But, at the end of the day, presidents get elected to enact change. And in order to effect change, you need as many votes up lined up behind you as possible. And in order to ensure you have those votes, you’ve got to drop the hammer and exert political muscle.
If Team Obama doesn’t convince David Paterson to drop out of the race for governor, they are going to have to deal with Governor Rudy Guiliani for a good long while. But New York isn’t the only place the White House is weighing in; they’ve been aggressive about endorsing candidates with contested primaries in Senate races in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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try talking out of one side of your mouth for a change....comparing the Obama team's desire to dump Paterson is hardly the type of secret manipulative act that Karl specialized in. We were reading about this Paterson ordeal as it unfolded and not seven years after the fact. No laws are being broken or bent. Everything is being said in plain view. If you ask me, this is highly unusual. When was the last time you saw something like this unfold in plain view?
Governor Guiliani? Perhaps a bit off the mark on that one. Don't forget that we New Yorkers already know the nature of the beast and not the made up image he tried to sell to the country a couple of years ago. No one in NY bought into his 9-11 grandstanding nor his abusive behavior towards his wife and children. The stunt with the Brookly museum was another of the anointed one's lack of judgement (do I have to mention his Legionaire Numero Uno Bernie Kerick?)
Andrew Cuomo stands a very good chance in this race.
Didn't they teach you in school that it is better to not write anything than to write something bad? EDIT ME BOYO, EDIT!
This is not about Rudy Gulliani winning the governorship ( I think New Yorkers are sophisticated enogh to see the man behind the curtains) it is about New York avoiding the infighting between Gov. Patterson and Coumo.
Mark Mckinnon is a hack,and as you said Nystan he is talking out of both sides of his mouth maybe intead of Mark writing articles maybe you should.
What are you all bitchin about. Mark is only telling you the truth. Heck am not even a NYer and I can see Paterson is worthless. He should step aside. What has he done for NY. The only person you hear that really is doing a good job is Cuomo. I think I like to hear Governor Cuomo.
Mr. McKinnon pretends Mr. Cuomo does not exist.
Gov. Paterson would not survive a Democratic primary against Mr. Cuomo.
Then Mr. Cuomo would beat Mr. Giuliani in a handy manner by more than 10 points. Mr.Cuomo is New York's most popular politician and has the WH behind him, too.
See this Siena poll:
http://tinyurl.com/kueqy4
"Gov. Paterson would not survive a Democratic primary against Mr. Cuomo."
Perhaps that is true, but why then would the Messiah even bother becoming embroiled in this situation? Why not just let it play out according to your scenario with Cuomo winning it all?
Maybe Paterson was sounding out the WH. I doubt this was supposed to be made public. It might have been a confidential message that someone blurted out for no real reason.
"Messiah" - gee I wonder what wing you're out on.
McKinnon = Republican apparatchik
apparatchik? The same guy that was so ruthless and evil that he quit the McCain campaign for fear that he might have to be involved in the typical political game of painting your opponent in an unflattering light? How cold, calculating, and ruthless this apparatchik must be!
McKinnon's a RINO at best. If he is the most calculating and cunning strategist/insider the Republicans have to offer then I guess there is no doubt as to why they are currently so inept
Or perhaps they are inept because the refuse to follow good advise.
Maybe Mark feels running on our record should be good enough for a person to be elected.
Anyone who believes McKinnon quit the McCain campaign out of some noble gesture is a blind sucker. There isn't one noble ounce in McKinnon's black and patholigically duplicious soul. He quit because his wife and two daughters were zealous Obama supporters and McKinnon knew if he was part of a hatchet job on Obama - as he was as part of the Rove gestapo trashing McCain in 2000 and Kerry in 2004 - then he would have been a divorced dad living in a hotel.
There is nothing noble about self-preservation - which is McKinnon's M.O. to a T.
I think it's a good policy to apply the "Costanza prinicple" to Rove--whatever he says, do the opposite.
I think Obama should stay out of it, or if he does say something it should be something that won't be in the news. (i.e. offer him an Ambassadorship or something)
Any of these local politicians who have a problem with Obama intervening in their elections need to shut their faces. I bet that if they were in trouble with the polls, he would be first on their list of people to call for help.
Get over it. Pres Obama are from Chicago, Cook Co, Il. They wear brass knuckles when they play tiddly winks there the same way they do in Albany, NY. Gov Paterson is going to be hit with slap jacks till he leaves office by Democrats.
There is a rumor that Gov Paterson has been violently disliked for years. The boys & girls in Albany, NY play rough. They can use skills that are unknown in Chicago, Cook Co, Il.
Gov Paterson is fated to become an evisceratet, piece of mascerated, tissue in the coming months before he gets dumped by NY's Democrats with help from Barack, Rahm, et al. NY State politics is a blood sport.
you are overstating....Lt Gov's don't receive that much attention. His position is due to an unfortunate disaster with Spitzer's fall from grace (and graceful and responsible resignation, under the circumstances.)
That is funny...."they can use skills that are unknown in Chicago,"
CHICAGO??
That is funny. Yeah, the town of genteel discourse, Chicago. I think you must have fallen asleep in class on the day your professor was lecturing on mid century strong armed American Politics.
They do the same thing in Tennessee. They are just "quieter".
Rove? are you kidding...No one compares to this Richelieu. Being from new york though, I have to admit Paterson is a big disappoointment...if he 's not going to be a strong candidate, he need not run.....
Being a New Yorker, I agree that Gov Paterson will not win the next election. However, he didn't need the President's advice.
The difference with Rove is that he did his own dirty work. Emanuel has the President doing his dirty work. Same old s**t, another day...........
Rahm = Rove; Obama = Bush; They are all the same. I am glad the Dems did a great job snowing their the independents and centrists with Hope & Change. We will find out that Rahm Rove & Obama Bush are all the same!
Hope & Change!!!
"aackc"; You're a
Phony
Attention troll.
Attempting to provoke a response-
Insincere
Unconvincing.
(Thx Ritarita.)
The wonderful thing is that by your comment you could be a disappointed wingnut or a real leftie;-)
..."But not nearly as unglued as the media and Democrats used to get over the idea of Karl Rove orchestrating politics from the White House."
I never had a problem with Rove orchestrating politics from the Whitehouse, the problems came in when he started injecting politics into the Department of Justice and god knows what other inappropriate government entities. The problem included Alberto Gonzales who turned out to be the most pathetic AG this country has likely ever had. At least Eric Holder has proven he is no yes man and will be on guard in case Rahm gets carried away.
Thank you.
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