WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2007
Rove Laments Early Start To '08 Race
Bush's Top Political Adviser Says Candidates Need Time To Hone Messages
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Play CBS Video Video Analysis Of White House Race Jim VandeHei, executive editor of Politico.com, talks with Harry Smith about presidential hopefuls Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, all of whom hit the campaign trail over the weekend.
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Video Politico Experts On '08 Race Politico's Ben Smith, who covered Sen. Hilary Clinton's trip to Iowa, and Jonathan Martin, who traveled to New Hampshire with Rudy Giuliani, discuss the presidential campaigns with Harry Smith.
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Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, says the 2008 presidential race is starting too early. (AP)
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Who's Who 2008 Republican Hopefuls McCain and Giuliani head up the Republican pack chasing the presidency.
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Who's Who 2008 Democratic Hopefuls Clinton, Obama and Edwards lead the chase for the Democratic nomination.
Rove recalled that Bush and his Austin brain trust had the ability to think about the message for a number of months, while this year's candidates are "being driven by the calendar and by the competition to move into the fray earlier — less prepared, and focused more on the tactical, short-term advantages."
"Is anyone talking about their agenda for America?" Rove asked, noting the possible exception of former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., who has been out of office since 2005.
He added that of necessity, candidates are thinking about fund-raising and giving the impression of aggressiveness as they carve out the niche they hope to occupy. "But as far as saying a lot of really interesting things that are going to be compelling enough and durable enough to serve as the means to get to the nomination, let alone the general election," he continued, "I don't see anybody at that place yet."
Rove added that the early start is "going to mean that people are going to spend, ironically enough, more time raising money, because it's going to give them opportunities to spend more money."
Looking to the immediate political horizon, Rove said Bush is confident that seeking common ground with Democrats will allow him to shape the debate for years to come, and perhaps even score some legislative accomplishments — as President Ronald Reagan and others have done when they were lame ducks heading a divided government.
"In one way, things are bad," he said. "We had the majority, and now we don't. On the other hand, that happens with frequency in American politics. What the American people want to know is: Are you going to take the time that you have and turn it to good purpose? Are you going to pick yourself up off of the mat, are you going to go get back into the game, and are you going to do so in a way that gets me to applaud you? If we pick ourselves up off of the mat and get back in the game, as we are, then this'll be a good thing for us."
Rove, a master of the minutiae of political demographics, has singled out four voter groups that he thinks the Republican Party needs to focus on:
Suburbanites: "The heart of our party is married couples with children, but they are also those that are most prone to be mobile in our society and hence less linked into politics."
Younger voters: "That's where you set in motion things that come to pass not in a matter of an election or two, but a matter of a decade or two."
African-Americans: "You can't claim to be a great political party if you're getting 9 or 10 or 11 percent. One of the interesting things about the 2006 election is that we appeared to make gains in the African-American community even while we were losing a national election."
Latinos: "This group is rapidly growing. We do well among them in some elections and not well in others."
Rove has a special interest in the group that demographers call "some college" — people who, like him, attended college but did not graduate. The concerns of this group dovetail with one of his current policy passions: income distribution and education.
"Income is increasingly correlated to more education," he said. "The challenge for our society is how do we prepare every child to be ready for college if he or she decided to go to college? Our problem today is not that we don't have enough higher education opportunities. It's that we don't have enough people who are prepared to take advantage of it."
By Mike Allen and John F. Harris
TM & © 2007 The Politico & Politico.com, a division of Allbritton Communications Company.


Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."





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See all 27 CommentsLOL!
Posted by b48151 at 05:21 PM : Feb 13, 2007
Intelligence isn't your strong suit now is it? ROFLMAO I'd suppose you HONESTLY believed Sir Lies-A-Lot when he told you the mission was accomplished... how long ago was that. Now I know we shouldn't complicate you small and insignificant little mind with the FACT that WE the PEOPLE are in charge and WE the PEOPLE went to the POLLS in November and decided that the Bush War was cased by LIES and should be ended. Now everyone know you fascist have a hard time with the concept of a Government by the People, but that's the way it is. ROFLMAO I've got a dog smarter that this Cracker folks! ROFLMAO
Who do they think they're kidding??? They're so out of touch they can reach Mars...
tejasdemo, and the Democrats are different how?
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Not only did you post 4 in a row, but you posted the same tired rhetoric we hear from your kind every single day...blah, blah blah, blah blah...maybe you should read the news every now and again, Karl Rove didn't out Mrs. Wilson, Richard Armitage did; to both early sources!! So get your facts straight before you blather on and on; I come on here a few times a week and all I ever see is complaining and namecalling from you and your MoveOn.org cronies, do any of you on the left actually have any ideas other than opposing anything the President or Republicans propose?...you hate Karl Rove because he has whooped you in 2 straight presidential elections; ones that you think you should have won.
Not only Rove, but Bush and Cheney too. No one will never touch them, no one will hold them accountable. They are going to get away with all of it. Yeah for the GOP.
They need to develop a message first - something that defines what they're FOR.
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