If I were Karl Rove...

[BurtWorm]

I'd shoot myself, for starters.

If I survived and had to deal with trying to get Bush elected, here's what I would do:

I would try to remove Bush from view. I would try to turn as much focus as I could on Kerry or any other factors out in the world that would deflect attention away from Bush, so people would stop thinking about Bush at all, because when they think about Bush, they get sick to their stomach and decide it's time for a change.

Now here's the ingenius part. Rather than try to paint Kerry as a liberal, which drives him right, I would try to figure out a way to drive him left. Because I'm Karl Rove, a stupid Republican who thinks left-leaning Democrats stand no chance against "center-right" Republicans. I would probably try to get more attention focused on Ralph Nader, try to drive Nader's numbers up, which can only hurt Kerry.

What would you do if you were Rove?

[AP]

1. If I were Rove, I'd prey for a failed terrorist attack targetting Bush.

If working and middle class people get attacked, forget about it. It will be like Spain. If something like what happened in Taiwan happens in the US, it could get Bush a ton of sympathy.

[MajorFlaw]

2. If I were Rove, I'd be working on my resume. n/t

[AP]

3. Or my defense strategy in the Plame trial.

[emulatorloo]

4. I would flee the country (but I think your "attack from the left"

strategy is already in play).

Most left dems I know understand what Kerry's campaign is about. (WINNING)

However, there have been numerous stories in the press about how Kerry is not pure enough for some left "dems". . .once "advanced search" is back up you can find threads on them in DU. At any rate, IHMO Rove and his minions have some hand in getting these stories into the press out and about. Any time I hear a "dem" quoted in these stories saying "JK has no message" I start to wonder.

[BurtWorm]

6. As a lefty who is not 100% thrilled with Kerry

I'd have to say that that tack (if it really is a tack, which I doubt) is not working on me, and I doubt it's working on anybody. After 2000, I take stories in the mainstream press about Democratic presidential candidates with a gigantic grain of salt. The NY Times political reporting, as far as I'm concerned, is utterly worthless. Maybe one or two campaign stories per week are worth even looking at.

No, I would try to figure out a way to bring Nader in from the margins toward the spotlight, to goad him into attacking Kerry for being too "centrist," too beholden to the "Republicrat establishment" to be entrusted as an alternative to Bush. I'd get him regular exposure on FOX and script the FOXies to ply him with questions mainly about Kerry and the Democratic party.

This is what worked so well for the Bushists in 2000. I'm really surprised they're not trying it this time.

[Sporadicus]

5. I'd Annex the Sudetenland

no, wait...that's Hitler! Got my fascists mixed up there for a moment.