Rove says Republicans will fare fine in midterms
“We’re in a sour time – I readily admit it,’’ Karl Rove, the president’s chief political adviser, said today of sagging public opinion toward his boss and his party. “The war looms over everything. There is no doubt about it.’’
Suggesting that there is “a disconnect’’ between public confidence in the economy and Bush’s political standing because of the war, Rove maintained today that the Republican Party will fare “just fine’’ in this fall’s midterm congressional elections.
“I’m absolutely confident,’’ Rove said. “We’re going to be just fine in the fall elections. And we’re going to be fine because we stand for things that are important to stand for – strong national defense… a complete victory in the war on terrorism…. We stand for economic policies that are pro-growth… fiscal restraint in the budget process.
“And our opponents, at this point, stand for little or nothing – except for pure obstructionism, whether it is the nomination of perfectly qualified men and women for the judiciary, or policies to pass and authorize the Patriot Act,’’ Rove said after an address at the American Enterprise Institute. “The other party seems to stand for little except obstruction, and ultimately the American people are a center-to-right country, presented with a central-right party with center-right candidates (and) will vote center-right.
“We’re in a sour time – I readily admit it,’’ Rove said in response to questions about the president’s low job approval and the potential impact on elections. “Being in the middle of a war where people turn on their television sets and see men and women dying is not something that makes people happy and optimistic and upbeat.
“Consumer confidence is relatively high,’’ said Rove, after delivering a speech before the conservative think tank that largely credited the Bush administration’s tax cuts and other economic policies for improvement in the economy. “There is a disconnect… and I think it’s because the war looms on all political actors.’’
The GOP’s own polling has registered approval for Bush, personally, in the low 60s, according to Rove. His job approval stands in the low 30s in public opinion polls.
“I love all these polls,’’ Rove told a reporter. “I love reading your polls. I love this mania which has swept through American media today which substitutes polls for coverage of substance... You’ll work your way through it eventually. I’m sure there will be a special Betty Ford addiction… for those who are addicted to regular poll numbers.
“I look at these polls all the time,’’ he allowed. “The American people like this president. His personal approval ratings are in the 60s. His job approval is lower. What that says to me is that people like him, they respect him. They’re just sour right now, and that’s the way it’s going to be. And we will fight our way through it. The polls will go up. The polls will go down… If you want to govern by waking up and saying, ‘How am I doing in the polls?’ and adjusting thereby, you’re going to find yourself in one heck of a problem. So we’re going to stay focused on good policy, confident that that will ultimately take care of the politics.’’
As the president prepares to address the American public on television tonight with his plans for immigration reform, Rove expressed confidence too that the politics of immigration reform will turn out all right. “This is about doing the right policy,’’ Rove said of the president’s immigration policy, “and the politics will take care of itself.’’
Rove has made relatively few public appearances since a federal prosecutor’s investigation pointed to him as one of the Bush administration officials who served as a source for news reporters who wrote about or knew of a CIA agent’s identity when her husband criticized the administration’s pre-war intelligence in the summer of 2003. And Rove had nothing to say on that count today, tersely referring to a statement that his own attorney released last month when Rove made his fifth appearance before a Grand Jury – lawyer Bob Luskin maintaining that Rove is not a target of the ongoing investigation.
Rove was asked by one reporter if – nearly three years since the identity of a CIA official was revealed and after Rove’s discussions with reporters have become known – the public deserves an explanation about Rove’s role in the identification of the CIA’s Valerie Plame when ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson criticized Bush’s pre-war intelligence.
“My attorney, Mr. Luskin, made a statement on April 26. I refer you to that statement. I have nothing more to add,’’ Rove replied. “Nice try, though.’
Suggesting that there is “a disconnect’’ between public confidence in the economy and Bush’s political standing because of the war, Rove maintained today that the Republican Party will fare “just fine’’ in this fall’s midterm congressional elections.
“I’m absolutely confident,’’ Rove said. “We’re going to be just fine in the fall elections. And we’re going to be fine because we stand for things that are important to stand for – strong national defense… a complete victory in the war on terrorism…. We stand for economic policies that are pro-growth… fiscal restraint in the budget process.
“And our opponents, at this point, stand for little or nothing – except for pure obstructionism, whether it is the nomination of perfectly qualified men and women for the judiciary, or policies to pass and authorize the Patriot Act,’’ Rove said after an address at the American Enterprise Institute. “The other party seems to stand for little except obstruction, and ultimately the American people are a center-to-right country, presented with a central-right party with center-right candidates (and) will vote center-right.
“We’re in a sour time – I readily admit it,’’ Rove said in response to questions about the president’s low job approval and the potential impact on elections. “Being in the middle of a war where people turn on their television sets and see men and women dying is not something that makes people happy and optimistic and upbeat.
“Consumer confidence is relatively high,’’ said Rove, after delivering a speech before the conservative think tank that largely credited the Bush administration’s tax cuts and other economic policies for improvement in the economy. “There is a disconnect… and I think it’s because the war looms on all political actors.’’
The GOP’s own polling has registered approval for Bush, personally, in the low 60s, according to Rove. His job approval stands in the low 30s in public opinion polls.
“I love all these polls,’’ Rove told a reporter. “I love reading your polls. I love this mania which has swept through American media today which substitutes polls for coverage of substance... You’ll work your way through it eventually. I’m sure there will be a special Betty Ford addiction… for those who are addicted to regular poll numbers.
“I look at these polls all the time,’’ he allowed. “The American people like this president. His personal approval ratings are in the 60s. His job approval is lower. What that says to me is that people like him, they respect him. They’re just sour right now, and that’s the way it’s going to be. And we will fight our way through it. The polls will go up. The polls will go down… If you want to govern by waking up and saying, ‘How am I doing in the polls?’ and adjusting thereby, you’re going to find yourself in one heck of a problem. So we’re going to stay focused on good policy, confident that that will ultimately take care of the politics.’’
As the president prepares to address the American public on television tonight with his plans for immigration reform, Rove expressed confidence too that the politics of immigration reform will turn out all right. “This is about doing the right policy,’’ Rove said of the president’s immigration policy, “and the politics will take care of itself.’’
Rove has made relatively few public appearances since a federal prosecutor’s investigation pointed to him as one of the Bush administration officials who served as a source for news reporters who wrote about or knew of a CIA agent’s identity when her husband criticized the administration’s pre-war intelligence in the summer of 2003. And Rove had nothing to say on that count today, tersely referring to a statement that his own attorney released last month when Rove made his fifth appearance before a Grand Jury – lawyer Bob Luskin maintaining that Rove is not a target of the ongoing investigation.
Rove was asked by one reporter if – nearly three years since the identity of a CIA official was revealed and after Rove’s discussions with reporters have become known – the public deserves an explanation about Rove’s role in the identification of the CIA’s Valerie Plame when ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson criticized Bush’s pre-war intelligence.
“My attorney, Mr. Luskin, made a statement on April 26. I refer you to that statement. I have nothing more to add,’’ Rove replied. “Nice try, though.’
posted by Bludlust at 7:07 PM
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