Karl Rove expresses support for Dean’s presidential campaign

Here’s a story from over the weekend that got a lot of folks riled up. It turns out that Karl Rove, Bush’s brain, participated in a July 4th parade in Washington and noticed a group of Howard Dean supporters carrying Dean campaign signs.

According to a report in the Washington Post, Rove was overheard telling a companion, “That’s the one we want,” adding, “How come no one is cheering for Dean?”

At that point, Rove apparently began trying to rally support for Dean’s activists, saying, “Come on, everybody! Go, Howard Dean!”

The issue of Dean’s electability has been on the minds of many in the political establishment for a few months now. Most party insiders decided long ago that Dean had no realistic shot at beating Bush, but that mattered less when Dean had little support, no money, a non-existent professional staff, and low poll numbers.

Now, of course, it matters a great deal. Dean has thrust himself into the top tier of Democratic candidates, has a blossoming fundraising operation, a growing staff, and is polling in the top two in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Naturally, Karl Rove is eyeing the potential competition and is no doubt wondering who would be the easiest to beat. This isn’t rocket science. Just as Dems would hope that the GOP would nominate the weakest possible candidate, Rove is doing the same thing.

For months, there have been rumors that the candidates Bush insiders fear most are Kerry and Edwards. This, naturally, leads me to like Kerry and Edwards more.

For those of us who want to see Bush lose next year, doesn’t it make sense to support a candidate that the Republicans don’t want to face? Wouldn’t we want a ticket that makes the other guys worry a little?

Rove is obviously no fool. Whether he’s right or wrong, Rove sees Dean as a candidate he can beat — a New England liberal, governor of a tiny state, no foreign policy or military experience, opposed the war in Iraq, freely attacks his fellow Democratic presidential candidates, cares little for party unity, and is a proud supporter of gay rights. What’s wrong with these traits? Nothing really, but Rove sees them as indications of a candidate with limited national appeal.

Rove, of course, is also aware of the schism in the Democratic Party between liberals and the centrist DLC crowd, and he’d love nothing more than to face a Dem nominee who would exacerbate that division. Wouldn’t you know it, Dean and the DLC have been feuding for months.

Dean’s supporters saw the Rove quote in the Post and began spinning an explanation as to why this is actually a good thing. Jerome Armstrong at MyDD.com, for example, is one of my favorite political bloggers. I respect his opinion and admire the fine work he does, but I think he’s way off-base on this one.

A huge Dean fan, Armstrong wrote over the weekend that Rove’s apparent desire to see Dean get the nomination is a sophisticated ruse.

“Karl Rove is a professional liar,” Armstrong said. “If you take anything he does at face value, you are being taken.” He added, “What Rove is really doing is giving the DLC candidates and the media some fodder to try and take down Dean with, because Rove knows Dean is the strongest Democrat in the field — which is why he’s saying the exact opposite.”

I’m afraid I couldn’t disagree more. It sounds like someone trying to rationalize bad news.

First of all, Rove wasn’t executing some clever new media strategy; he was merely riding in a parade. The Post learned of his “support” for Dean because a parade watcher overheard Rove speaking to a companion. In other words, this wasn’t an interview with a reporter where Rove could leak a carefully crafted message; it was an off-hand remark to a friend.

Armstrong would have us believe Rove orchestrated all of this, seeing the Dean supporters, speaking to someone in the car just loud enough for another person to overhear the comment, hoping that all of this would be reported in the media so as to help the DLC “take down Dean.” I’m afraid that strains credulity a bit.

Second, Armstrong argues that Rove secretly sees Dean as the “strongest Democrat in the field” and because Rove is a “professional liar,” he’s saying “the exact opposite” of what he really believes. I’m not buying this either. If Rove had admitted that he saw Dean as a formidable foe for Bush, I suspect Armstrong and others would be shouting from the rooftops, “See, I told you the White House fears Dean!” But since Rove indicated he’d love to face the good doctor, Dean’s supporters say this is all part of a cunning scheme motivated by the GOP’s genuine fear.

If Dean’s supporters saw the Rove comment and concluded that the White House is simply wrong about Dean, and that they believe Dean’s appeal as a national candidate is being underrated, then fine. It’s a point that could have merit. But it comes across as kind of silly to think that Rove is so afraid of Dean that he says, “That’s the one we want.”