Thought Theater

There's something amusing about Karl Rove appearing on Fox News with Bill O'Reilly to tell viewers that Barack Obama is arrogant. Perhaps I'm wrong, but this seems like a classic example of projection on the part of one of the most arrogant politicos in the business. As I listened to the examples Rove offered, it became even more apparent that this was little more than vintage bloviating on the part of Karl Rove.

When I hear Karl Rove accusing Barack Obama of arrogance (video below), I can't help but think back to the 2006 election and his famous eleventh hour prediction...the one where he informed the press that he had "THE math" and all they had was access to the silly polls that the public gets to see.

From NPR:

[Mr. Rove's first response below is responding to a question about public polls and analysis predicting a Republican loss in November.]

KARL ROVE: I see several things; first, unlike the general public, I'm allowed to see the polls on the individual races and after all this does come down to individual contests between individual candidates. Second of all, I see the individual spending reports and contribution reports. For example at the end of August in 30 of the most competitive races in the country, the house races, the Republicans had 33 million cash on hand and Democrats had just over 14 million.

SIEGEL: We are in the home stretch though and many would consider you on the optimistic end of realism about...

ROVE: Not that you would exhibit a bias, you just making a comment.

SIEGEL: I'm looking at all the same polls that you are looking at.

ROVE: No, you are not. I'm looking at 68 polls a week for candidates for the US House and US Senate, and Governor and you may be looking at 4-5 public polls a week that talk attitudes nationally.

SIEGEL: I don't want to have you to call races...

ROVE: I'm looking at all of these Robert and adding them up. I add up to a Republican Senate and Republican House. You may end up with a different math but you are entitled to your math and I'm entitled to THE math.

SIEGEL: I don't know if we're entitled to a different math but your...

ROVE: I said THE math.

Sorry to break the bad news to ya, Karl...but the GOP lost the Senate and the House in 2006, you lost your job as Bush's brain, and it turned out that your brand of scorched earth politics may have set in motion the collapse of the GOP coalition. That seems like a rather drastic fall from your perch as "the architect". As a matter of fact, it may be fair to suggest that your house of cards simply couldn't withstand the pressure being created by your endless blow-hard bravado.

UPDATE:

Maureen Dowd has more on Karl Rove's remarks here: