Karl Rove -- remember him? -- penned a column Thursday in Rupert Murdoch's new propaganda rag, the Wall Street Journal, giving the reasons why he believed Hillary Clinton won in New Hampshire and what he sees ahead.
Say what you want about Rove, he seems to have as strong a read on Democrats as he has on the Republican base.
Rove sees four reasons for Hillary's victory:
- First, her campaign made a smart decision at its start to target women Democrats, especially single women. It has been made part of the warp and woof of her campaign everywhere. This focus didn't pay off in Iowa, but it did in New Hampshire.
- Second, she had two powerful personal moments.
- Third, the Clintons began -- at first not very artfully -- to raise questions about the fitness for the Oval Office of a first-term senator with no real accomplishments or experience.
- The fourth and biggest reason ... is that, while Mr. Obama can draw on the deep doubts of many Democrats about Mrs. Clinton, he can't close out the argument.
As for the road ahead, Rove offers up some basic political tactics and says the next big race will be Super Tuesday. No surprise there.
The fact that Rove is writing says that he doesn't plan to go away. The fact that he's writing for Murdoch should have us all concerned.
- Jim Grinstead
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